E-Paper
Preserve the future
The Archaeological Survey of India?s (ASI) firm stand against plans of an elevated Metro railway line being constructed next to the Qutub Minar complex is a pleasant surprise.
The Archaeological Survey of India’s (ASI) firm stand against plans of an elevated Metro railway line being constructed next to the Qutub Minar complex is a pleasant surprise. In a city with a heritage like Delhi’s, conservation has, sadly, never really figured in urban planning and modernisation projects. Many of Delhi’s historical monuments have already suffered irreparable damage due to increasing encroachment, vandalism as well as sheer neglect. The task of preserving an already endangered heritage can’t be washed away in the name of development.
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has, till now, held an impeccable record in ensuring that structures close to where it has undertaken construction activities are not damaged. Since the main issue with an elevated corridor at the Mehrauli stretch is that it will distort the view of monuments such as the Qutub Minar, rather than causing structural damage, the easy alternative is an underground tunnel. That this would raise costs by around Rs 450 crore — a fraction of the amount being spent on the project — should be no excuse to undo conservation efforts. It took close to a decade of intense campaigning to have this zone declared as the Mehrauli Archaeological Park, thereby providing much-needed incentives and funds for the preservation of the monuments dating from 1060 A.D. to the late 19th century.
Along with Humayun’s Tomb, the Qutub Minar is one of the two Unesco-sanctioned World Heritage Sites in Delhi. However, it will not do to lobby merely for international approval when it comes to conservation. Fear of the Unesco withdrawing the heritage status may have shaken the ASI out of its usual slumber. But scattered around the city are hundreds of buildings and structures that are historically significant and yet fail to receive the attention due to them. The Metro-Qutub tangle must now be used to build a consciousness, among those charged with urban planning and people in general, that preservation and development can and must go hand-in-hand. Archaeologists, architects and historians must be included right from the planning stage of any urban development project. The future of Delhi cannot be at the cost of its glorious past.
