SC mulls monitoring upkeep of Delhi’s neglected heritage sites

Key Highlights

• The Supreme Court has over the past year passed a series of orders directing the removal of encroachments and has been closely monitoring restoration efforts.
• When the matter was taken up on January 13, a bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice NK Singh recorded that the restoration work had been undertaken in the “right spirit” by the stakeholders concerned.
• The bench approved the final restoration plan, noting that it would require about four months for completion.
• The court was informed that the petitioner, Rajeev Suri, had filed an application seeking to expand the scope of the proceedings to include other heritage sites in Delhi under various statutory authorities, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which allegedly suffer from a lack of proper upkeep.
• The application alleged that conservation efforts in the Capital have been “ad hoc and cherry-picking” in nature.