The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed the Union government to take action as per provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 for removing 176 unauthorised constructions in the “prohibited” and “regulated” areas situated within 300-metre radius of Gulbarga Fort in Kalaburagi.
A Division Bench passed the interim order on a PIL petition filed by Sharan Desai, a resident of Bengaluru.
The Bench directed the Union government to ascertain within two months whether there are any illegal constructions put up within the fort, which was declared as a protected ancient monument in 1951 under the old law and continued as a protected monument under the new law enacted in 1958.
Also, the Bench directed both the Union and State governments to submit status reports by August 22.
During the hearing, the petitioner submitted a document provided to him by the Archaeological Survey of India informing that there are around 62 unauthorised constructions in the “prohibited” zone (which is a 100-metre radius from the boundary of the fort) and 114 unauthorised constructions in the “regulated” zone (which is a 200-metre radius from the boundary of the prohibited zone).
Meanwhile, the Bench made it clear that the action already initiated for rehabilitating some of the occupants living in the protected area will not come in the way of the authorities while initiating action for removing unauthorised constructions.