It is beyond comprehension how authorities can assign house numbers to encroachers of Gulbarga Fort: Karnataka High Court  

A file photo of the entrance of the Gulbarga Fort.
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Stating that the conduct of the State authorities is “contemptuous” for not demolishing the illegal constructions put up within the precincts of Gulbarga Fort, a national monument situated in Kalaburagi, despite the court’s direction issued way back in 2019, the High Court of Karnataka has observed that “it is incomprehensible as to how the authorities can give house numbers to the encroachers”.

The court directed the Regional Commissioner, Kalaburagi division, to file his personal affidavit clearly pointing out what prevented the authorities from complying with and obeying the directions issued on November 8, 2019, and why even the compliance report was not filed before the court for the past five years.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Anjaria and Justice M.I. Arun issued the directions while hearing a PIL petition, filed in 2018 by one Sharan Desai, a native of Kalaburagi and residing in Bengaluru.

No leniency

The court in November 2019 made it clear that no leniency should be shown by the authorities and the illegal structures must be immediately demolished once it is established that they are illegal constructions as per Section 19 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, as the notices for eviction were issued to all the 282 identified encroachers on several occasions.

Later, the court in March 2020 granted six months to the Regional Commissioner to shift the people residing in the illegal constructions as the State government said that it was making arrangements to shift 282 families to alternative accommodations.

However, the Bench noted that State authorities had neither shifted the people nor demolished the illegal constructions besides not filing the compliance report sought by the court and “this conduct of the authorities cuts a sorry figure”.

Survey fort area

Meanwhile, the Bench directed the Regional Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of Kalaburagi to survey the fort area and find out the names of the present occupants, their houses, the nature of the use of the properties built illegally by encroaching the fort area, and submit a roadmap and mechanism to remove the encroachments.

Also, the Bench directed the Superintending Archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India to file an affidavit on what steps the ASI is taking up to protect the monument to maintain its original status and to prevent its deterioration.