HC disposes of plea to stop demolition, says no illegal structure on public land
“Right to health, right to breathe, and right to heritage and culture have to be harmonised and balanced,” said the Delhi High Court on Thursday, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), seeking directions to authorities including the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to desist from demolishing the ‘Ashiq Allah Dargah’, including the ‘Baba Farid’ chillagah and other nearby historical monuments, in Mehrauli or Sanjay Van.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said in the order, “This Court is of the view that undoubtedly life in its expanded horizons includes all that gives meaning to a man’s life, including his culture and heritage, and the protection of that heritage in its full measure. However, this Court takes judicial notice of the fact that Delhi is one of the cities that are worst affected by pollution. No month passes when the air quality index does not cross the hazardous mark. According to doctors, even the lungs of young children are being adversely affected.”
The High Court also said that Mehrauli and Sanjay Van are marked as “green/forest areas” in the city’s Master Plan. It then observed that green areas are the “lungs of the city”, and all statutory authorities have to put in efforts to ensure that “no illegal or unauthorised construction is carried out on this public land.”
The court, after examining photographs in the plea, observed that it was apparent that some of the structures located in the midst of thick forest have been “renovated recently, and are occupied by certain families”. The bench said that the “apprehension of mindless demolition” expressed by the petitioners was misplaced, adding that as per a Supreme Court ruling, “religious structures can be demolished only after taking a prior approval from the Religious Committee, which is headed by the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi”.
“The undertaking given by the learned counsel for the respondents that no protected monument or national monument declared either by the central or state authority shall be demolished is fair, reasonable, and strikes a balance between the competing claims/interest,” the bench said while disposing of the plea, holding that respondent parties are “bound” by their undertaking.
The petitioners’ counsel argued that the DDA had demolished adjacent structures in Mehrauli, including the Akhoondji Masjid without issuing prior public notice. He said that the demolition of such old heritage structures in Mehrauli took place under the garb of removal of encroachments, despite such monuments being registered in historical records. He also said that the area where the Ashiq Allah Dargah is, has been barricaded by police as well as public access has been restricted, its caretakers removed from the premises, raising “serious apprehension of its impending demolition”. He argued that the dargahs and surrounding monuments ought to be protected as they are of “historical, artistic, and archaeological interests”, noted the order.
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