Activists urge govt to make list of monuments for conservation

The demand comes days after a 100-year-old stepwell in Badshahpur was almost lost to negligent road construction by the Haryana urban development authority

Seeking restoration of heritage structures, activists in Gurgaon on Monday wrote to the Haryana government to map all important monuments and historical sites in the city as per the Regional Plan 2021.

The 100-year-old stepwell Badshahpur village of Gurgaon was built by Mohanlal in 1905. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The demand comes days after a 100-year-old stepwell in Badshahpur was almost lost to negligent road construction by the Haryana urban development authority (Huda).

“The stepwell meets several criteria for conservation—it is a water body, a recharge area, a monument of sorts, and a significant manmade structure. It shows us how important water was even then (1905), and efforts were made in the past to make water accessible to all,” read the letter by environment analyst Chetan Agarwal to the district administration.

The letter also pointed out that as per the Regional Plan 2021, which was published in 2005, all historical sites should be protected.

“The Regional Plan-2021, in Chapter 14, Section 14.2, and sub-section (viii) ( pg 131), states that water bodies, manmade heritage sites, etc, located in the NCR should be conserved/protected,” the letter read.

Thus, activists have urged the district administration to take steps to protect these heritage sites.

According to the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) data, a total of 640 monuments and architectural sites are scattered across Haryana’s 21 districts.

“We have carried out a listing of monuments in the state which need to be preserved and conserved. This is one of our ongoing projects in Gurgaon. In India, all monuments are classified under three categories according to which they get an agency to look after them. These agencies are Archaeological Survey of India, the state government and the district magistrate. All monuments should be conserved by the district administration,” INTACH convener Atul Dev said.