ASI gets plot next to Humayun’s Tomb

Since 1997,the ASI has been requesting for the possession of the land,owned by the ministry. It had filed a court notice against BSG for carrying out illegal construction and commercial activities.

The BSG complex,referred to as Bharatiyam Complex,currently houses the Kunzru Stadium,Camp Office,VIP Room,Sports Complex,Bajpai Memorial Hall and the two centrally-protected monuments of Bada Batashewala Mahal and Chhota Batashewala Mahal.

In 1989,at the time of organising Bharatiyam,temporary arrangements were made for the stay of participants in the campus. A number of modules (small hutments) were constructed within six weeks on the assumption that they will be demolished after the event.

But after the event,the BSG rented out the modules to several organisations and institutes,including the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for use as office space. In 2001,the Parkland club entered into a collaboration with the BSG to build a club over 1.5 acres and operate it on commercial basis.

In view of these commercial activities,nearly four years ago,a Supreme Court appointed Monitoring Committee sealed the complex. But the modules stand untouched even today and are home to around seven families of BSG employees.

For years,the complex also played host to students from across the country,who came for the Republic Day functions. Scouts and guides camped at the modules and practiced at the in-house stadium in the complex. The ASI raised objections on this too,as it caused damage to monuments. Over the years,the ASI made several representations for the possession of the land. The Urban Development Ministry finally took cognizance of it and officially handed over the complex on January 7.

“The complex houses two significant 17th Century monuments,which have been ravaged due to illegal constructions,” said a senior ASI official. “The plot stands in the buffer zone of the Humayun’s Tomb,a World Heritage site. Now that it has been handed to us,we plan to develop it and integrate it with the Humayun’s Tomb complex.”

Currently,the Humayun’s Tomb Complex,monuments of Sunder Nursery and other monuments stand disconnected.

“The original linkages have broken as a result of subdivision of land,” he said,“which has denied the World Heritage Site its rightful setting and gives a false impression that it stands in an isolated context.”

The decision will provide a fillip to the Nizamuddin area,including the Humayun’s Tomb Complex,which is being redeveloped by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture on behalf of the ASI.

The historic landscape can be restored and additional facilities added,the official said. “For the one million people who visit Humayun’s Tomb every year,it will enhance their experience and provide visual and physical connectivity between these cultural sites.”

It will also enable a 16th Century heritage trail and expand the World Heritage Site boundaries. Excavations in the area are expected to reveal foundations of several monuments,enclosure walls and the original context of the whole site,ASI officials said.

This archaeological zone is also considered significant owing to its proximity to the Grand Trunk Road,the Dargah and Chillgah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and several early Mughal buildings.