Delhi HC sets up committee to clear  Tughlaqabad Fort encroachments

The Delhi High Court has constituted a high-level committee to oversee the removal of encroachments and illegal constructions around the Tughlaqabad Fort in South Delhi, while ensuring rehabilitation of residents who may be displaced in the process.

In its September 24 order, a Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed a joint survey of the area by officials of the Central Government, Delhi government, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and other related bodies to detect and remove illegal structures.

The court said: "These encroachments will have to be removed, not only to ensure that the mandate of 1958 (Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains) Act is followed but also to ensure that our historic heritage and ethos is preserved for posterity."

The Bench observed that while no encroachments were found inside the fort monument itself, substantial illegal constructions were on the land handed over to the ASI in 1993 outside the boundary wall.

Declaring that the fort is “an ancient monument of national importance and reflects India's heritage,” the court stressed that preservation is a constitutional and statutory mandate. At the same time, it acknowledged the “human problem” involved in displacing long-time residents.

"Such removal of encroachment shall entail a human problem that also needs to be solved by all the authorities, including the Central Government, state government, Archeological Survey of India and municipal bodies," the Bench said.

Accordingly, the Court formed a committee to steer both the removal and rehabilitation process. The panel will be headed by the Secretary of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and will include the ASI Director General, the Delhi Housing and Urban Development Secretary, the MCD Commissioner, the Delhi Police Commissioner, the DDA Vice-Chairman, the Divisional Commissioner of the Delhi Revenue Department, and any other member it deems necessary.

"The aforesaid committee while deliberating issues and suggesting policy decision shall also consider various Government Schemes for rehabilitation including the Pradhan Mantri - Unauthorised Colonies in Delhi Awas Yojana as well," the court added.

The chairperson of the committee has been directed to file an affidavit on progress by December 3, the next date of hearing.

Significantly, the court also revisited the role of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), noting that a probe into unauthorised construction at the site had been initiated earlier.

"It appears that the matter at some stage was taken up by CBI. Nothing is known of the outcome of the issue taken by CBI. We thus require the counsel representing CBI to seek instruction as to the outcome of the proceedings initiated by CBI," the Bench said.

The petitions, titled SN Bhardwaj Advocate vs ASI and connected matters, concern the protection and preservation of the Tughlaqabad Fort, a 14th-century citadel built by Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.