It is more of a hush-hush affair in this village, some 100 km from Nadiad. The nine acre area demarcated by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has thrown up so many dinosaur fossils that paleontologists of international repute have said that this could be one of the graveyards of the dinosaurs, that died some 60 million years ago.

And after an international conference of paleontologists in Gandhinagar earlier this year, four guards were posted at the site. The government plans a Rs 65 lakh plan to preserve the site, with officials speaking of world class dinosaur parks and museums at Rahioli and Dahod.

But despite the guards, it obviously isn't difficult to walk off from the site with relics from the Jurassic age. For one, four or five guards can hardly take care of the site.

For another,the curio hunters also come in official hue. From lower-rung Panchayat officials to higher-ups in the state government, visitors frequent the site -- and walk away with fossilised dinosaur bones, fossil imprints, and other material.

Quite often, the guards have to do what the sahib bids, and themselves dig out the fossils they are supposed to prevent others from taking.

The Indian Express has possession of some evidence that points to the fact that known cases of theft is only the tip of the iceberg. In a letter from a taluka official to the village office, of which The Indian Express has a copy, a higher-up asks his junior to send someone and get him a dinosaur egg from the site -- just like that !

Be it police officers, officials, or ordinary people, the temptation is big. As an official said, ``What better gift to give or item to sell than something as old as 60 million years!''

Officials find it much easier to do so. Why can't this whole operation be prevented ? For the simple reasonthat dinosaur eggs or bones are not covered by the Mines & Minerals Act, 1966, to deem their possession illegal. The state geology & mining commissioner H K Das conceded that he could not initiate legal action against any ``unauthorised'' person keeping the fossils.

But he says he has not received any complaint of ``thefts'', although he conceded there was urgent need to protect and promote all the three dinosaur sites in Rahioli (Nadiad), Anjar (Kutch) and Meerakhedi (Dahod).

``I have taken the initiative and am coordinating with the collectors, panchayat chiefs, and forest officials concerned to do the needful. Results will follow soon,'' he assured.

The geology department itself is plagued by the resource crunch. It neither has adequate men -- at present it has 12 for Kheda region -- nor enough vehicles. The entire show runs on one assistant geologist. The plunder -- in the meantime -- goes on.