SC pulls up officials over poor heritage upkeep

The Supreme Court on Wednesday came down heavily on various departments, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, for their failure to properly maintain several heritage monuments in the national capital.

Flagging the “lack of cohesion” between different Government bodies, the apex court directed the senior officials of various departments, including the secretary of the Union Ministry of Culture and the commissioner of the MCD, to appear before it on October 15. “We are calling them for forming a team for coordination,” a bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and N Kotiswar Singh said.

The top court was hearing a matter concerning preservation and upkeep of some heritage monuments in Delhi.

Besides the secretary of the Ministry of Culture and the MCD commissioner, the bench also asked the director general (DG) of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), vice chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), secretary of the Department of Archaeology of the Delhi Government and others to appear before it.