Karnataka HC tells UDD to restrict officers from allowing new constructions around protected monuments
If any permission is to be granted in tune with the statute, such permission shall precede a no objection from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
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Time of India
15 hours ago
- Time of India
Electric cart service at Big Temple lying idle, awaits ASI nod
Thanjavur: The electric cart service at the Brihadeeswara Temple, or Big Temple, in Thanjavur, which was inaugurated last month, is yet to begin operations, as the Rotary Club, which dedicated the service, has said that it is waiting for permission from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The cart, which was dedicated for the benefit of senior citizens, pregnant women, and people with disabilities visiting the temple, has been lying idle at the office of Thanjavur Municipal Corporation for the past three weeks. On May 18, the Rotary Club's Thanjavur Kings dedicated the electric cart. However, the temple's administration, ASI, halted the service that same day due to a lack of permission. G Sridhar, president of Rotary Club's Thanjavur Kings, said, "We have submitted a request letter at the ASI office in Trichy and are waiting for permission to operate the cart." The electric cart initiative was supported by a private bank's corporate social responsibility (CSR) at around 6 lakh. K Varthaman, 59, from Dindigul, who visited the temple with his family on Friday, said, "The electric cart service would have been useful for the needy visitors if it had been available. Due to the unavailability, accessibility remains a challenge for the needy." ASI sources in the central zone said the permission needs to be granted by the higher officials, as the administered temple is a UNESCO world heritage site. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Construction cannot happen near protected sites without ASI's permission: Karnataka HC
The Karnataka High Court ruled Monday that construction activities cannot be carried out near protected sites within a particular radius without the permission of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as prescribed by the law. The order was passed by Justice M Nagaprasanna in response to a petition filed by a resident of Mangalore. The Mangalore resident had come into possession of a property after a partition suit in 1993. After subsequent challenges and appeals to the same, he was allotted a share of 8.8 cents of land in the Thota village of the Mangalore taluk. In 2023, the City Corporation granted permission to construct a house with an approved plan. After the construction reached a certain stage, ASI issued a stop notice on the grounds that the construction was within 150 metres of the Mangala Devi Temple, a protected monument. The resident approached the High Court with the petition after his representation for a no-objection certificate (NOC) was denied. The court stated in its order, 'It is to be noticed that framers of the Constitution were conscious of the need to shield the monuments and places of historic importance from spoliation and disfigurement… It is the obligation of the State to protect every monument of historic interest.' The petitioner's counsel stated that there was no impediment in granting the NOC as the construction was in the regulated area rather than at a distance where construction was prohibited. He stated that, as per images from Google Earth, it was at a distance of 151 metres from the temple. It was also submitted that the ASI estimate of 64 metres using Google Earth was erroneous, and the petitioner was doing a renovation that was permitted under the law (by bringing down and rebuilding an older construction). The State counsel argued that the constructed property was indeed at a distance of 64 metres where construction is prohibited. The counsel also said that the construction done so far should not have been sanctioned without an NOC from ASI. The bench also did not accept the claim of 151 metres distance, and said, 'It is deliberately shot from a different angle and enlarged so that the distance would change. The respondents (ASI) have placed a Google Earth image taken by them, which clearly depicts that the property which is being constructed is within 64 metres of the protected monument…. The statute clearly bars any kind of new construction, but permits only repair and minor renovation.' Apart from directing the petitioner not to go ahead with the construction, the court also ordered a departmental inquiry against the erring officers who granted permission for the construction contrary to the law.
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
Only 2 protected monuments in Delhi encroachment-free in 20 years, RTI reveals
Only two centrally-protected monuments in Delhi have been cleared of encroachments, while seven others are still subject to illegal occupation and unauthorised construction in the last 20 years, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) said in response to a Right to Information (RTI) application accessed by India Today per the ASI, Delhi Circle, encroachments have been removed from the Barapullah Bridge at Nizamuddin and the Tughlaqabad Fort in Southeast Delhi as of 2023-24. While the first one was made encroachment-free in 2024, a similar action occurred at Tughlaqabad Fort in growing urban pressures, these clearances mark important milestones in heritage preservation. Nevertheless, seven additional significant monuments that fall under the purview of ASI's Delhi Circle are still encroached upon, which are:Atgah Khan's Tomb in Nizamuddin Village's Begumpuri Rajpur Cantonment (Mutiny Cemetery - Maurice Nagar).D'Eremao Graveyard - Kishanganj Railway Gate - Firoz Shah Kotla with the remaining walls, bastions and gateways and gardens; the old mosque and its walls and other ruined buildings in the Gate and portions of the city wall on either side of the Kashmere Gate. The stretch runs from Mori Gate to Kashmere Gate - on one side and on the other side - the water bastions at the northern corner of the walls, and the ditch outside the city gateways, bastions and internal buildings of both the inner and outer citadels of Tughlaqabad ASI also pointed out that Section 8(3) of the Right to Information Act restricts public access to archival data by prohibiting the disclosure of records that are more than revelation from ASI's Delhi Circle highlighted the advancements and the continued difficulties in protecting Delhi's monuments from the dangers of urban growth and InTrending Reel IN THIS STORY#Delhi
