14 monuments missing, NMA informs Centre

NEW DELHI: The National Monuments Authority (NMA) has submitted a report to the culture ministry, saying that there are 14 missing or untraceable monuments in Delhi. However, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) claims that the actual number of such monuments was less than the stated figure. Sources said the ministry was likely to seek a response from the ASI on the issue before finalizing the figure.
A senior NMA official said: “We are going ahead with 14 untraceable monuments and sent our report to the ministry. Now, its up to them whether they take any clarifications on this figure from ASI.” NMA officials said that while they were aware of ASI’s objection, the latter had not officially communicated it to them. ASI earlier said that there were only 10 missing or untraceable monuments in Delhi and the figure by NMA included some monuments that were listed twice under different names. Once the issue is resolved and published in the gazette by the ministry of culture, it will become the official number.
The list of missing monuments was prepared by the NMA when it started the process of categorizing all centrally protected monuments in Delhi. Untraceable monuments in the capital include Moti Gate, Phool Chadar, Barakhamba Cemetery, Alipur Cemetery, Joga Bai Mound in Jamia Nagar, Shamsi Talab in Mehrauli (near Qutub Minar), Nicholson’s statue, two sites of Siege Battery with inscriptions, Inchla Wali Gumti at Kotla Mubarakpur, a tomb with three domes in Nizamuddin, Neeli Chhatri in Nizamuddin etc. This list is tabled in Parliament every year to highlight the ill-effects of urbanization and rapid development on historical structures.
The list is part of the overall report on eight categories of monuments in Delhi. The categorized monuments are expected to help in planning urban projects as clearances will be required for areas where these monuments stand.