Lodhi Era Tomb in DDA Park (2009)

Many Delhi residents can claim to be living in heritage houses. But none of them can possibly boast of a home that’s more than 600 years old; one that was built much before the first Mughal emperor set foot in India. That’s a `feat’ achieved by a three generations of a family who had converted a Lodi-era tomb in south Delhi’s plush Vasant Vihar into comfortable living quarters, complete with power connection and water supply.
On Thursday, however, law finally caught up with the encroachers 50 years after they had moved into the Bara Lao ka Gumbad, and over time, blocked three of its four entrances, desecrated the graves, drilled holes into the structure, plastered the walls, installed wooden racks and hung paintings there.
“They had completely turned the ancient monument into private living quarters with no regard to its heritage status,” said an official of the state archaeology department. “Walls inside the gumbad have been painted white in several places; the facade is broken and in urgent need of attention.”
The 15th-century tomb, standing on a 4.35 metre high terrace and made of random rubble masonry, has been given the highest archaeological value, A, by INTACH. Experts said the monument is unique because of its size and the huge terrace it stands on, unlike the other tombs of the period. The original beautiful terraced garden there has been totally destroyed because of the encroachments.
On Thursday, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the state department of archaeology officials finally got rid of the encroachments within the monument and razed unauthorised structures around it. The Bara Lao ka Gumbad, an unprotected structure till date, has now been handed over to the state archaeology department and notified as a protected structure by Delhi government.
“Till date, the gumbad was located on DDA land but was neither under the purview of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the state department,” said a senior official. The historical gumbad is now on its way to get a complete facelift by INTACH’s Delhi Chapter, as part of a MoU signed with the Delhi government to conserve 92 unprotected heritage structures by the Commonwealth Games.
“We have inherited the place from our grandfather who lived here since the 1940s. This land does not belong to DDA but to the Wakf Board and we are currently fighting an ownership case with them in high court. DDA has no jurisdiction here,” said an agitated Anup Singh, whose family lived in the monument premises. Documents, however, proved that the land was owned by DDA and the occupants could not furnish any papers to support their case and stop the demolition.
An official from the archaeology department said: “We will now conserve and protect the monument and develop the area around it with DDA’s horticulture department.” INTACH has deployed security around the structure to ensure the encroachments stay at bay. This is the first time action been taken on this Lodi monument which has been under illegal occupation since 1948. “Similar action was tried about 10 years back but was not successful,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
The family who lived in the monument and its vicinity have held on to it for over 50 years, never permitted an inspection of the site. An elderly woman lived inside the main monument while the small hutments built around the structure were given out on rent to families.

There were about 15-20 hutments around the structure. The families were seen hurriedly trying to clear out their belongings from the hutments minutes before the bulldozers targeted the structures. Sources said the occupants, who themselves lived elsewhere, had given out the hutments on rent and earned good money owing to its location in upscale Vasant Vihar.
The Residents’ Welfare Association (RWAs) of Vasant Vihar has also been fighting with the authorities to give Bara Lao Ka Gumbad a new lease of life for some time now. Romi Chopra, president of Vasant Vihar RWA said: “We are very grateful that the government is finally enforcing the law and protecting heritage. The monument and the park where it is situated will go a long way in enhancing the beauty of the historical building.”
Monuments being encroached upon in Delhi is nothing new. With over 1,800 historical structures and only a handful of them under central or state protection, many monuments have been taken over by encroachers. Recently, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit favoured a legislation for greater public initiative for protection and preservation of monuments