Archaeology dept blames Golf Club as restoration of monuments delayed
The six monuments inside the Delhi Golf Club premises were part of the 19 monuments that had been taken up for conservation by the department of state archaeology in collaboration with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 2017.
A year after Delhi’s department of archaeology was given the go-ahead from the Delhi government to restore six monuments at the Delhi Golf Club premises, work has been delayed since club authorities stopped the state government body from starting with the conservation task.
“We had completed the detailed project report (DPR), got approval from the technical and financial committees and were about to start with the project when the Golf Club disallowed us from going ahead,” said an official with the department of state archaeology.
The club authorities, on the other hand, said they had reached out to the department of urban development, which handed over the restoration project to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), a central government body.
“It has been decided that ASI will carry out the technical assessment and guidance of the work, which will be undertaken under the supervision of CPWD,” said Raghav Chandra, a member of the governing body of the Delhi Golf Club at Dr. Zakir Hussain Road.
“These monuments are not listed under us, but we have taken up their restoration and CPWD will start work in the next couple of months,” a senior official from ASI said.
Expressing concern, the official with the state archaeology department said “conservation work generally done by bodies with archaeological expertise is now being carried out by CPWD, which is responsible for modern works and not archaeological works.”
The six monuments inside the club were part of the 19 monuments that had been taken up for conservation by the department of state archaeology in collaboration with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 2017.
“Conservation work in most other monuments have already started. Others are about to start soon. We are just waiting to hear from the Golf Club to begin work there,” Ajay Kumar, director of projects, INTACH, said.
The monuments inside the club includes the tomb of Mir Taqi, Bagichi tomb, tomb of Sayyid Abid, two unknown tombs and one unknown mosque.
The structures have to be cleared of vegetation growth and the damage caused to them due to environmental factors and age has to be fixed.
The monuments are also broken and disfigured at many places, which will have to be repaired during its restoration.