The Delhi High Court directed DDA and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to secure and free from encroachment Mehrauli Archaeological Park here, saying if nothing is done the encroachers could take over the nearby Qutub Minar as well.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva directed Delhi Police to provide all assistance to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and ASI in removing encroachers from the area and securing it.
The court also issued notice to DDA, ASI, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, city government, south Delhi municipal corporation and Delhi Urban Art Commission seeking their responses by May 20, the next date of hearing.
The court added the Station House Officer (SHO) of Mehrauli Police station as a party to the case.
It was hearing a PIL by an NGO, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) which has sought that the Archaeological Park, spread over 100 acres and having about 80 monuments, be "preserved, protected and maintained ".
"The monuments of the park range from grand structures like Quli Khan's tomb, Balban's Tomb, Maulana Jamali's mosque and tomb and Rajon ki baoli, to several minor monuments that together constitute a huge cultural asset and potential heritage recreation space for the city," the plea has said.
"The park has been encroached at several places and is under constant threat of further encroachments," it said and alleged one ASI notified monument - Tomb of Khan Shahid - has been "whitewashed and defaced", which the NGO claimed was a precursor to encroachment.
"The picturesque qualities of the park are threatened by the multi-storey constructions along the western edge..., and its ambience is rendered unpleasant by the use of the park for sanitation by those living in Mehrauli and within the several monuments in the park that have been illegally taken over for residential or other purposes," the plea said.
