SC orders mapping of heritage sites

Petition in court, in Gumti of Shaikh Ali case, sought to map and protect heritage structures that have fallen into disrepair

- Abraham Thomas

The Supreme Court on Tuesday initiated an exhaustive exercise to map the status of Delhi's archaeological sites, directing multiple civic and governmental agencies to submit detailed conservation status of the Capital’s notified heritage structures.

The court directed urban local bodies — the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) along with statutory authorities such as the Delhi government, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and private entity Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) to respond to an application moved by Delhi resident Rajeev Suri.

Suri had earlier approached the court seeking restoration and conservation of a 700-year-old Lodi-era monument, the Gumti of Shaikh Ali, located in Defence Colony. Following court intervention, the structure was cleared of unauthorised occupation by the Defence Colony RWA and placed under the care of the Delhi government’s archaeology department, which then notified it as a protected monument.