NEW DELHI: Humayun’s tomb was crowned with gold recently; the greatest privilege is the kind that lasts. Case in point: Qutub Minar sits on tourism brochures but Hastsal Minar (built by Shah Jahan of Taj Mahal fame) longs for visitors. On Google Maps, its status is ‘permanently closed’.
“In Chandni Chowk, Khazanchi ki Haveli, which had Mughal-era marble pillars, was lost due to a property dispute between siblings. Another haveli came down three years ago because its 60 tenants refused to fix seepage. Outdated rent and property acts can be blamed,” said Vartika Sharma, a lawyer with MCD’s Heritage Committee. Minutes away from Defence Colony bungalows, is Kotla Mubarakpur, where the Lodhi-era tomb and mosque of Mubarak Shah Sayyid are. The former is protected by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which has earned it rusty iron fencing. Mere inches away are residential plots clumsily clambered atop each other.
The Monument Notification Act (1958) bans construction within 100 metres of a protected monument. The mosque, further deep in the complex, has been de-protected by ASI. It now serves as an obscure playground with pointless pillars and arches. Zamrudpur, near Greater Kailash, has two GPS-proof Lodhi era tombs. These are under lock-and-key by residents, who claim to have complete right over them under the ‘lal dora’ classification, where municipal jurisdiction is no longer valid. So, people, poultry and naked drains lay squashed in concrete armpits all around. Next on the extinction list could be Badli-ki-Sarai in North Delhi. It was nearly bulldozed by developers a year ago.
“The moment a building is declared heritage property, residents can no longer sell it or make changes to it. So, the owners demolish old structures or plaster over them,” highlights veteran architect Geeta Bais. India has over 85,000 monuments and 500 conservation architects and the chapter on conservation too has been deleted from the PWD schedule. Ajay Kumar, director INTACH, says municipal authorities should intervene. “We can’t simply declare a structure special and not fix the roads leading up to it,” he said. Ratish Nanda, CEO of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in India, points out to the lack of incentives for conservation by ASI and the state departments of archaeology. He feels converting heritage property into bed and breakfast hotels and museums should be encouraged. He calls for easily transferable commercial rights. Architectural conservationist Navin Piplani feels locals should regain control and be made a part of a transparent policy framework. Kanika Singh, who runs Delhi Heritage Walks, has discovered underground granaries along fort walls in Mehrauli owing to her archaeological research. She believes the inaccessible tomb of Khan-i-Jahan Tilangani in Nizammudin is still an untold tale.
Some cover a grave, some are their own grave; death is as much about the journey.