Centre moves in to take over 500-year-old site

The grade I notified heritage structure was under “unauthorised” occupation of the local Resident Welfare Association (RWA), which has been using the property as its office for decades.
500-year-old Gumti of Shaikh Ali
500-year-old Gumti of Shaikh AliPhoto | Express
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NEW DELHI: Following the Supreme Court order, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) will take over possession of the 500-year-old monument, Sheikh Ali Ki Gumti, located near Defence Colony Market. The grade I notified heritage structure was under “unauthorised” occupation of the local Resident Welfare Association (RWA), which has been using the property as its office for decades.

In a recent order, a bench comprising justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah asked the association to handover the site to the concerned officer in Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the ministry. The court has also appointed a court commissioner to supervise the handing over process.

With the vacation order, the long-standing dispute between the Defence Colony Welfare Association (DCWA) and a group of residents of the upscale neighbourhood of south Delhi led by lawyer Rajeev Suri is expected to be over. Suri has been contesting the court case for its protection and conservation of this Lodi-era tomb for years.

The L&DO, last year, issued a notice to the RWA to remove fixtures and valuable items from the premises and “hand over the unauthorised occupied possession” to the department. However, the resident body didn’t comply with the order.

The Supreme Court in November appointed historian and author Swapna Liddle to survey and ascertain the damage caused by negligence and alteration made to the structures. In her findings, Liddle highlighted how poor maintenance and encroachment had caused severe damage to the monument having distinctive architectural features; octagonal pillared pavilion.

In the report, the heritage expert suggested some remedial measures and noted that if the action is not taken the heritage structure will decay very soon. Liddle’s report stated that Gumti was retained as the central feature of Defence Colony when many new residential as well as commercial and institutional areas were created in Delhi post independence.

“Important monuments were either developed as monument complexes – such as Humayun’s Tomb Complex; or landscaped into large green parks – such as Lodi Garden; or even given space within roundabouts – for example Sabz Burj. Many others were made the focal points of small neighbourhood parks and public green spaces. The location of Sheikh Ali’s Gumti within Defence Colony is the result of this planning principle. When the colony was planned in the 1950s, it was laid out with the gumti as a central feature,” read the report.

The apex court has also directed Delhi’s department of archaeology to prepare a plan for prevention and restore the tomb to its original glory.

Defence colony

Defence Colony is among the earliest colonies developed in south Delhi after Independence

Vast vacant land near Kotla Mubarakpur village was earmarked to lay out settlement to relocate officers from the armed forces

It is divided in five blocks and has more than 1,600 plots and 18 DDA flats

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