Tughlakabad Fort protected area’s physical demarcation to be completed in 3 weeks, HC told

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela had on Tuesday pulled up the authorities for the delay in completing the physical demarcation despite the court’s repeated orders to remove encroachments from the protected area.

The court has been hearing a bunch of petitions, one dating as far back as to 2001, over the issue of removal of encroachments in Tughlakabad Fort.

Last December, the HC had recorded in its order, “…it is apparent that for one reason or the other, the physical demarcation has not been conducted so far, for past several years, which we consider to be necessary to address the issue of rampant encroachment in the area.”

It had asked the SDM as well as the additional director general of ASI to join the proceedings on the next date of hearing “to assist this court for resolution” of the issue.

Kalkaji SDM Anuj Bharti, appearing before the court on Wednesday, said that he was posted at his current jurisdiction only last November and was thereafter engaged in duties related to the Delhi polls.

Bharti assured the court that its order directing for a physical demarcation of the area will be completed. “It won’t take much time now, we can get it done in a week… Maps have already been prepared by tehsildar… coordinates are available.”

The bench recorded Bharti’s statement, noting that “in consultation with ASI, the physical demarcation of the area shall be completed in three weeks”.

The HC will hear the matter next on March 26, when it also directed that a report regarding work done on the matter related to physical demarcation be submitted before the court.

The issue of encroachment in Tughlakabad Fort area had earlier reached the Supreme Court as well. In 2016, the SC had recorded that “repeated orders are passed to the effect that there would not be any further construction in the protected monument”, which means ASI has to take action for removal of unauthorised construction as also encroachers from the public land. However, the encroachments had continued.

In an order issued in April 2023, the HC had recorded that ASI had already served 1,248 notices towards various structural encroachments within the fort.

As the court order had recorded, the ASI is in complete control of the area in question. However, since various state departments passed the buck over removal of the encroachments, the HC had in May 2017 constituted a committee — comprising various state departments — to conduct a survey of the area and take appropriate steps for removal of encroachments.

However, in April 2023, the ASI had expressed its “helplessness” in removing the encroachments on account of “non-cooperation of other departments”, including MCD and GNCTD.

In August 2023, the court was also informed that about

100 bigha of land has already been freed from encroachments and a wall is being built around the area.