Delhi High Court seeks DDA response in plea to stay demolition near Mehrauli Archaeological park

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on a plea seeking a stay on the demolition drive near Delhi's Mehrauli Archaeological Park till a fresh demarcation of the area is conducted. .Justice Mini Pushkarna also placed the matter for hearing before a Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma after the DDA said that the demolition drive was being conducted in compliance of the orders passed by the High Court in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Delhi Waqf Board. "Considering the submissions made and the fact that similar issue is already being considered by a Division Bench of this court, it is deemed expedient to place the matter before the Division Bench. List before Division Bench-1 on February 17, subject to orders of the Chief Justice," the Court ordered. .The Court was hearing a plea filed by Mehrauli Minorities Resident and Shop Owners Welfare Association. The association told the Court that the DDA had started its demolition around Mehrauli Archaeological Park in a village named Ladha Sarai. It argued that the area has various sites of religious importance to Muslims and many slums as well. The plea contended that the DDA was demolishing these structures without consulting the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and the land owning agency. It added that the Delhi government's revenue minister has directed a fresh demarcation of the area. Despite this, the DDA had decided to go ahead with the demolition based on a demarcation carried out in 2021. However, DDA countered that it was making the area free from encroachments in compliance with the High Court's earlier orders. .The case concerns the demolition drive reportedly being carried out by the DDA to clear encroached forest land in Mehrauli ahead of the next month’s G20 meeting, which is to be held in the Mehrauli Archeological Park.In an official statement released on Saturday, the DDA said that the drive is intended to clear the unauthorised encroachments on the government's land, which houses protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).