NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over lack of seriousness in protecting heritage monuments and rapped the MCD over poor upkeep in Delhi.
A Bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and N Kotiswar Singh, hearing a matter concerning preservation and upkeep of heritage monuments, flagged lack of coordination between government departments and directed senior officials, including the Secretary, Ministry of Culture, MCD Commissioner, DG ASI and VC DDA, to appear before it on October 15.
“We are calling them for forming a team for coordination,” the Bench said. It impleaded the Ministry of Culture as a party respondent and took note of a report by court commissioner and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan. “We find that there is an absolute lack of cohesion between various government bodies/departments,” the court said.
It observed that officers had not understood the seriousness of the issue and said the time had come for drastic action through strict orders, but refrained from doing so as a “last indulgence”. Sankaranarayanan told the Bench about Lal Mahal, a 13th-century palace in Nizamuddin, which he described as perhaps the oldest palace in the capital.
The Bench questioned the MCD counsel about the monument. The counsel said the civic body could not find that the land was under its jurisdiction and assured the court that an affidavit would be filed.
“There is absolutely no seriousness on your part,” the Bench told the ASI, questioning its failure to take appropriate steps to protect and preserve the monuments.
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