Parts of Delhi Golf Club to be sealed after Supreme Court order on heritage sites

THe sublime margaret court on wed ordered straightaway enforcement of a 100-metre prohibited district around the Archaeological Survey of India-protected monuments Lal Bangla I and II, situated just outside the entrance gate of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC).The court directed sealing of all activities and structures falling within that area, including portions of the club’s kitchen barely three metres away from the monument.Restrictions inside club premisesAt the same time, the court separately directed that no activity shall be permitted within 20m of nine other historical structures located inside the club premises, noting that these monuments, unlike Lal Bangla I and II, are not “protected” under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act.A bench of justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and N Kotiswar Singh passed the directions after examining a spot survey report submitted by court commissioners led by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan along with advocates Nipun Saxena and Vishal Sinha.‘Dilapidated condition’“The photos produced in the report reveal that in most of the monuments there is not even a semblance of conservation. They are in a dilapidated condition with not even the basic conservation work being done,” said the bench.Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the club and requested for time to respond to the report filed by the court commissioners — Sankaranarayanan along with advocates Nipun Saxena and Vishal Sinha.He said, “The construction in the club is of 1952 while the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act is of 1958. This is a very harsh order being passed. If the entrance is sealed nobody can enter the Delhi Golf Club. Let the order not be passed without seeing our response. The court is only going by the commissioner’s report.”Kitchen to be removedThe bench said that on May 11, it had indicated that once the court commissioners submit the report, drastic orders will be passed.The report said, “The Lal Bangla I & II (AD 1779-80), is dangerously close to the kitchen area of DGC. The entire kitchenette portion, which at some portion is barely 3 metres away from the protected monument, has to be removed forthwith by the DGC.”The kitchen area had hot boilers, pucca construction, drums, heavy boiler fans, chimney, water tanks. The commissioner said that the same was required to be done within 30 days.NDMC, police told to actActing on the report, the bench held, “Section 20A of the AMASR Act, 1958 requires there will be a protected area of 100 metres. With immediate effect, no activity within 100 metres of the said structure can happen. Any structure built shall be seized forthwith.”The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) was represented in court by the solicitor general Tushar Mehta.The bench said, “The NDMC is directed to take immediate steps, and if necessary take assistance from the Commissioner of Police…We make the NDMC Chairperson and Commissioner of Police responsible for compliance.”Petition by Delhi residentThe order of the court came in a petition filed by a Delhi resident Rajeev Suri who initially sought protection of Gumti of Shaikh Ali in Defence Colony, which has since been declared a protected monument due to court’s nudge.