Latest news with #Lodhi-era
Time of India
7 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Look, MCD Has Work Cut Out At Gumti
New Delhi: Even after the Supreme Court's Thursday deadline to clear the environs at the Gumti of Shaikh Ali at Defence Colony, a visit in the afternoon revealed the truth of what the court described as a 'warzone'. T he surface of the park in front of the 700-year-old Lodhi-era monument was a patchwork of disparity: some spots had green grass, others were just dry and bald cracked mud. In a corner, a fallen signboard tried dismally to stay relevant. It once proudly declared that the South Delhi Municipal Corporation had created this park for children's play and recreation. But that promise seemed long broken — quite literally. The play area resembled a graveyard of rusted remains with a broken slide slumped on its side and round swing frames rusting quietly. In another corner, scattered alcohol bottles lay strewn in the grass, indicating what happens in the park after sundown. The benches, too, were broken, splintered at the edges, daring anyone to sit on them. The trees appeared to have once been part of a nursery, but now many were uprooted or had dried away. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like After 35 Years, Her Jewelry Is Nearly Gone The Heritage Journal Read More Undo Overall, where there should have been a luxuriant green space around a monument, there was a dull, lifeless sprawl. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi Amid this mess stood the office of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Delhi Jal Board , the one the Supreme Court had ordered to vacate. Its gate was shut, but peering in, the clutter was visible, with broken compartments and an overwhelming sense that the place was either ransacked or hastily abandoned. The adjacent temple remained active, but the surrounding area appeared stripped, like a property that had just witnessed a theft. There were remains of broken cars there, too. This was when the Supreme Court made it clear on Wednesday that Delhi govt was to notify the Gumti of Shaikh Ali as a protected monument and slammed the municipal corporation for "abandoning this place like a child thrown into the dustbin". By Thursday afternoon, there was no clean-up. No restoration. No sign of improvement. When contacted today, MCD officials did not offer a comment. But for now, the site stands as it was the previous day, held in a freeze-frame of decay and disrepair. What could be reclaimed as a slice of Delhi's history remained a forgotten ruin with a court order hanging over its head. However, local people were seen working on the restoration of the monument. Area resident and environmentalist Bhavreen Kandhari railed, "That a public monument needed the Supreme Court to force basic maintenance speaks volumes about the collapse of official accountability. Garbage and rubble and theft of the iron by scrap sellers is not just administrative indifference, but institutional arrogance. After all, it's all our public money that's being wasted in damaging and then rebuilding the structure. " She added that waiting for 'formal orders' to clean a historic site was a poor excuse for MCD. "Running city-wide campaigns on tree planting but ripping off a nursery during the monsoons with no thought and plan shows an alarming lack of conscience," said Kandhari.
New Indian Express
17-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
SC asks Delhi government to issue order declaring Lodhi-era 'Gumti of Shaikh Ali' protected monument
In a significant step, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to issue a fresh notification to declare the historic, Lodhi-era monument "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" as a protected monument under the law. The two-judge bench of the top court, headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, passed the direction to the Delhi govt after hearing an appeal filed by Defence Colony resident Rajeev Suri, who sought a direction to declare the Gumti as a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act). Suri had knocked the doors of the apex court after his plea was earlier dismissed by the Delhi High Court. During the course of the hearing on Wednesday, the top court went through some report filed by the Delhi government, including a notification and clarified that it was not 'happily (properly) worded'. 'Let the notification (to declare the monument as a protected one under the law) be re-issued by the Delhi government,' the bench told the Delhi govt. Making it clear that there should not be any illegal structures or encroachments near the area, the court asked the authorities to demolish the illegal structures, if any, inside the monument site. It directed the court commissioner to visit and inspect the concerned area and apprise the bench about the work undertaken in pursuance of the directions issued.
New Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
SC asks Delhi govt to issue order declaring Lodhi-era 'Gumti of Shaikh Ali' protected monument
In a significant step, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to issue a fresh notification to declare the historic, Lodhi-era monument "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" as a protected monument under the law. The two-judge bench of the top court, headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, passed the direction to the Delhi govt after hearing an appeal filed by Defence Colony resident Rajeev Suri, who sought a direction to declare the Gumti as a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act). Suri had knocked the doors of the apex court after his plea was earlier dismissed by the Delhi High Court. During the course of the hearing on Wednesday, the top court went through some report filed by the Delhi government, including a notification and clarified that it was not 'happily (properly) worded'. 'Let the notification (to declare the monument as a protected one under the law) be re-issued by the Delhi government,' the bench told the Delhi govt. Making it clear that there should not be any illegal structures or encroachments near the area, the court asked the authorities to demolish the illegal structures, if any, inside the monument site. It directed the court commissioner to visit and inspect the concerned area and apprise the bench about the work undertaken in pursuance of the directions issued.
New Indian Express
16-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
SC directs Delhi government to reissue notification declaring Lodhi-era ‘Gumti of Shaikh Ali' a protected monument
NEW DELHI: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Delhi government to issue a fresh notification declaring the historic Lodhi-era monument "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" as a protected monument under the law. The two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, passed the direction while hearing an appeal filed by Defence Colony resident Rajeev Suri. Suri had sought the court's intervention to declare the Gumti a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act), after the Delhi High Court dismissed his petition. During the hearing, the bench examined a report submitted by the Delhi government, which included a previously issued notification. However, the court observed that the notification was not 'happily worded' and thus required reissuance. 'Let the notification (to declare the monument as a protected one under the law) be re-issued by the Delhi government,' the bench directed.
The Hindu
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Declare Lodhi-era 'Gumti of Shaikh Ali' protected monument: Supreme Court to Delhi government
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) directed the Delhi government to issue a fresh notification to declare the Lodhi-era monument "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" a protected monument under law. The dispute over the monument came to limelight when the top court directed the Defence Colony resident welfare association to vacate its structures and pay ₹40 lakh to the archaeology department of the Delhi government as compensation for occupying the historical place since the 1960s. A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ahsanuddin Amanullah was hearing a plea filed by Defence Colony resident Rajeev Suri, who sought to have the Gumti declared a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act). The plea was filed in the top court after the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea in 2019. The top court has been regularly passing directions to ensure the removal of encroachments, illegal occupation, and beautification of the monument and its surrounding area. On Wednesday (July 16, 2025), the bench examined a Delhi government notification and said it was not 'happily worded'. 'Let the notification (to declare the monument as a protected one under the law) be re-issued by the Delhi government,' the bench said. Protected monuments under the AMASR Act benefit from legal protection, conservation efforts, and restrictions on activities around them to ensure their preservation for future generations. Such monuments are safeguarded against damage, destruction, and unauthorized construction or excavation in their vicinity. The bench asked the authorities to demolish the illegal structures inside the monument area. The bench also asked the court commissioner to inspect the area and apprise the bench about the work undertaken in pursuance of the directions issued. It asked the authorities, including the archaeology department, to make and execute plans to beautify and preserve the monument and its surrounding areas. The bench previously directed the MCD and others to remove all encroachments around "Gumti of Shaikh Ali". It also ordered the MCD and DJB to vacate and hand over their office spaces to the Land and Development Office. The bench subsequently reprimanded the MCD for continuing to operate an office near the monument and granted 48 hours to it to clear the site of 'lock, stock, and barrel'.
