Wakf board set to restore 400 heritage structures
FACE LIFT This is first time such a conservation effort will be carried out in Delhi
NEW DELHI: With no one to maintain or conserve them, several heritage structures belonging to the Delhi Wakf Board (DWB) are losing sheen. But not anymore.
In a first, the custodian of the wakf properties in the national capital – the DWB – is planning a systematic conservation of all these notified heritage buildings.
While most of these structures are in south Delhi, officials said a major problem leading to the dilapidation of the significant number of structures in the Walled City is encroachment.
Wakf, in Arabic, means donating a building, a plot of land or other assets for religious or charitable purposes, with intention of reclaiming the assets. The wakf board is the manager of those properties.
The DWB and its occupants, including tenants, of around 400 notified heritage structures — including mosques and tombs dating back to the pre-mughal period — have failed to carry out timely restoration.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, a senior Delhi government official privy to the development said, “Occupants (or tenants) of the several properties do not bother about their upkeep. This negligence is resulting in the deterioration of the structures. Hence, the DWB has planned a systematic conservation. The proposal is being sent to the finance department and provisions for adequate budget will be made. The DWB will engage experts or an agency for the restorations.”
As per plan, the conservation will be conducted in a phase-wise manner.
In the first phase, 10 big structures will be restored.
The Delhi Wakf Board is the proprietor of 1,977 registered properties worth crores of rupees. The list encompasses 827 mosques, around 480 graveyards (and open land), over 300 dargahs and 358 other properties, including baolis, residential units, schools and shops. Mostly, these properties and lands are located in Mehrauli, Palam, Shahdara, Najafgarh and Narela. Among the prominent notified heritage properties under the custodianship of the board are Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki Dargah complex, the shrine of Chirag-e-dilli, the tomb of Bedil, Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri mosque, Nili Masjid in Hauz Khas, and a few other structures in the Mehrauli Archaelogical Park.
“Before starting the project, there should be clarity on the title of our properties. Several of them are encroached and court cases are going on. A survey needs to be done to take up conservation of buildings on a priority basis. It should be clear whether those structures are with DWB. The board has been claiming ownership of a few of monuments, which were in the notified list of Archaeological Survey of India before 1947,” said another Delhi government official familiar with the matter.
According to a report by the ministry of minority affairs in 2013, 147 of the board’s properties were encroached by government agencies and 1,100 are under illegal occupation of private individual or organisations.
An official of the DWB, who is not authorised to speak to media, said more than 100 properties are encroached upon by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and about 150 have been taken over by the ASI.
“When a public interest litigation (PIL) sought directions for getting DWB properties free from encroachment, the Delhi High court directed to initiate action against squatters. The process is already on and illegal occupants are being removed,” he said.