1,000 years of Delhi’s heritage at risk of becoming history here

New Delhi: Almost a thousand years of India’s history lies inside the 100 acres that is the

Mehrauli

Archaeological Park. Almost as if claiming a niche in that story, modern Delhi is making inroads into the conservation area, in the process putting at

risk

not only the 127 heritage structures there, including the six protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, but also the historical character of the park.

The clearest signs of encroachment are the illegal buildings in the proximity of many of the monuments. It was this encroachment that made Intach file a petition in Delhi high court in 2015, in response to which the court directed Delhi Development Authority, the owner of the land, to take appropriate steps to demarcate the archaeological park and prevent encroachments.

But incursions have continued. Often, it is the unnamed and unidentified monuments that bear the brunt of neglect. "Recently, Intach took steps to preserve an unnamed tomb in the park, but before anyone could prevent it a madrasa had come up there," related a senior conservationist. "The people first erected a shed and in a matter of weeks had taken over a big tract of land for their complex."

A cleric from the madrasa insisted to TOI that the school had existed there "for more than four years and we teach 27 students". "It is a legal structure and we have all the permissions," the cleric claimed.

Convenor Swapna Liddle said out that Intach had been worried about the problems for a number of years now. Its 2015 PIL was aimed at ensuring not only proper maintenance and preservation of the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, but also the prevention of further decay and destruction of historical artefacts. And yet take the case of the late-Lodhi period horse stables. Just a month ago, even as Intach is renovating the structure, an illegal toilet came up along the monument’s wall, next to a small mosque, which, according to its caretaker, "has been around since Mughal days".

Along with encroachments, littering has become a big problem too. Part of the problem is because

DDA

has not made strenuous efforts to clarify the expanse of the historical area. "A committee was formed, as directed by the high court, with members from all stakeholder agencies to chart out a plan for the park and to make it better," said an Intach official.

In his response to queries by TOI, a senior DDA official claimed the "demarcation process has begun". He said, "We have asked for tenders to build the boundary walls and have earmarked the 300-metre stretch on which the wall will come up, other than in the western area. The work will begin this month."

While not as well known to tourists as the neighbouring Qutub Minar complex, there still is popular interest in the park. The need now is for the authorities to take an interest in keeping it alive.