Two trees near the boundary of Bade Khan’s Tomb, an Archaeological Survey of India-protected monument, have caused damage to the outer wall, forcing a resident to move the Delhi High Court.
The court on Wednesday directed the ASI and the Forest Department to take necessary action — either remove the trees or prune them — immediately.
Majeet Singh Chugh, who lives in the house adjoining the boundary wall, told the court that trees are tilted and creating cracks in the wall. He added that the trees are now a risk to the residential properties. Bade Khan’s Tomb is located in Kotla Mubarakpur of South Extension Part-I.
Repeated requests
Despite letters and repeated requests, Mr. Chugh said, the Forest Department of the Delhi government had failed to take action.
Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva asked the Forest Department why it hadn’t taken action even after the ASI had written to it. The court asked the departments to take necessary action and file a report on March 1.
Dating back to the Lodi period, the monument has come to be surrounded by residential properties and markets. Mr. Chugh first wrote to the ASI and the Forest Department highlighting that the trees were tilted and that one of them nearly dead and almost uprooted.
High-tension cable
Above the boundary of Bade Khan’s Tomb is a high tension cable to the residential area. The trees are also a threat to the electricity supply as they may snap the cable on falling and cause injury, he said. Mr. Chugh said he had made several trips to the offices of the agencies concerned, but the authorities turned a deaf ear.
He had even written to the ASI and the Forest Department on January 28 requesting them to remove the trees, but in vain. An official from the horticulture division of the ASI visited the spot and wrote to the Tree Officer of the South Forest Division stating that the trees near the enclosure wall had been tilted towards the adjoining house and could fall any time.
Permission
“You are requested to permit for its removal to prevent the house from damages and also avoid human loss,” the ASI had said in its letter to the tree officer on February 2. The permission was never given, forcing Mr. Chugh to move the High Court.
