Heritage for hire? Delhi's idea to rent out monuments for events stirs debate

Some fear large-scale events like weddings could cause damage to centuries-old sites

- Debarshi Dasgupta

It is a balmy winter afternoon. Workers from shops and offices nearby are having lunch, seated in small groups on the lawn of a park in Delhi's Vasant Vihar neighbourhood. Squirrels and crows keep them company, nibbling on grains left behind for them.

Towering above them is the recently restored Bara Lao ka Gumbad, a 15th-century cenotaph. Its white-domed structure lined with deep blue tiles peeks out from a grove of eucalyptus trees.

It is an idyllic spot that could also play host to a wedding or a literature festival if a Delhi government proposal to rent out monuments for private events is implemented.

The idea is to boost the event management industry and generate funds to better maintain these monuments, many of which are in a pitiful state.

But heritage enthusiasts fear that large-scale events at or around these centuries-old monuments, especially if poorly regulated, could cause further damage.

Delhi is dotted with many old monuments. It is part of a rich architectural heritage bequeathed by several empires that ruled from the city, including the mediaeval Delhi Sultanate from the 13th to the 16th centuries, as well as the Mughal and British empires that followed.

An official with the Delhi government's Department of Archaeology, who did not want to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media, told The Sunday Times that the idea is currently being discussed, with details to be made public only when they are finalised.

The list of monuments that could be opened to private events does not include iconic sites such as Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb and Qutub Minar that are better maintained by the federally managed Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

What is potentially on offer instead are around 75 lesser-known monuments looked after by the Delhi government, which are in varying states of conservation, including tombs, mosques, minarets and stepwells.