Delhi: LG VK Saxena Directs DDA To Halt Demolition Drive In Mehrauli, Ladha Sarai Amid Protests

Delhi's LG VK Saxena ordered the DDA to halt the ongoing demolition work at Mehrauli and Ladha Sarai until further notice, according to a statement issued by the LG office.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Tuesday directed Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to stop the ongoing demolition drive in Mehrauli and Ladha Sarai till further instructions, news agency ANI reported quoting the Delhi LG office's statement.

Earlier in the day, a group of BJP leaders met with Delhi Lt Governor to discuss the anti-encroachment drive in Mehrauli. They stated that the activity will be halted and the region would be renamed.

Baijayant Panda, the BJP's national vice-president, and the Delhi unit in charge met with the LG and indicated that the demolition effort in Mehrauli was causing hardship for residents because it was based on a survey undertaken by the Delhi government's Revenue department.

This development also comes after the Delhi High Court sought responses from the city government and the Delhi Development Authority to a petition seeking a stay of destruction in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park region of south Delhi until a new "demarcation report" was completed.

Without interfering with the demolition process at this point, Justice Mini Pushkarna issued a notice on the petition filed by Mehrauli Minorities Resident And Shop Owners Welfare and directed that the matter be referred to the division bench (DB) headed by the Chief Justice, where a similar matter is already pending. 

Nearly 20 multi-storey buildings, a large number of shops and houses, and a private school building are among the structures built "illegally" in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park during the previous few decades, which the authorities have recognised as part of the 'anti-encroachment' drive.

Officials have stated that only structures that are not involved in any dispute will be demolished after some parties contacted the court seeking a delay in the demolition.

The effort began on Friday, one month before a projected G20 conference at the park in south Delhi. According to the DDA, the ancient park is home to approximately 55 monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India, the state archaeological department, and the municipal civic authority.

The DDA began a demolition campaign in Mehrauli early this month. According to the petitioner, the Delhi government's revenue minister stated on February 11 that a new "demarcation report" should be written because the current report had "certain objections," and that no demolition exercise should be carried out in the interim.

(With Inputs From PTI, ANI)