The Hindu : New Delhi News : Top officials summoned over squatters around monuments

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Top officials summoned over squatters around monuments

Staff Reporter

Why they have not been removed despite orders, asks court

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday summoned the Superintending Archaeologist, Delhi Circle, of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Divisional Commissioner of the Delhi Government asking them to explain why encroachments in and around protected monuments here have not been removed despite repeated orders by the Court.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma asked the two officers to remain present in the Court on February 15.

The Bench summoned the two officials after going through an affidavit filed by ASI that failed to satisfy the Court on the progress of removal of the encroachments.

The Bench gave a fortnight to the Delhi Government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to file reports in the matter.

The High Court had last year set up a committee having one representative each of ASI, Delhi Government, DDA, Delhi police, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), MCD and Delhi Cantonment Board.

The Bench had said that the committee would be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of the choice of the Delhi Chief Secretary and the Superintending Archaeologist, Delhi Circle, of ASI would be its Member Secretary.

The committee had been set up on a public interest litigation (PIL) by Heritage and Culture Forum, a non-government organisation, asking ASI to publish a list of protected monuments in the Capital and publicise them and educate people about their rights and duties to the monuments. ASI in its affidavit told the Court that 14 of the 172 monuments in the Capital were under encroachments.

Of these 14 monuments, seven --Lal Gumbad, Nili Masjid, Palam Mosque, Qudasia Mosque, Tomb of Razia Begum, Sunehri Masjid and Sarai Shahji are being used for worship. Some of the persons claiming to be maulvis also stay inside some of these monuments.

At times, some of the monuments were white-washed and additions and alterations had been carried out in them to provide drinking water, toilets and wazu (holy tank) facilities by the encroachers while some of these properties had been notified as waqf properties by the Delhi Waqf Board. Hence, the matter was being pursued with the Board.

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