Archaeological Survey of India has no clue on Golconda Fort limits

Hyderabad: How much is the encroachment in Golconda Fort area? This question has no answers as the Revenue Department of the State Government and the District Administration officials have not given any documents to the Archaeological Survey of India despite several reminders.

In a recent meeting with the Chief Secretary S. K. Joshi, the issue was raised again as the 100 and 200 meters from the monument has to be kept as the buffer zone. But due to the assembly elections and now with members of the parliament elections, the issues have been put on the back burner.  

To protect the monuments and also save it from further encroachment, the ASI State Office requires the presentday maps and land records from the State Government but there is no response.

A senior officer explained, “Earlier, the department had removed the encroachment from within but with the tourism department, the permission for the golf course was procured. Presently, the complete wall near Naya Killa is encroached. The information of different periods is in different files. Each period has clear cut data of how the land area would have been, but with no documents from the State Government, the present day data of actual encroachment cannot be compiled.”

The ASI states that the Golconda Fort, the citadel, the fortification walls, the gateways of Naya Killa, the Qutub Shahi Mahal, and the government land lying in between the inner citadel and outer fortification walls, all come under its jurisdiction. To protect its area, signage and boards have been put up. However, that indication does not have any impact on the people who are in and around the fort area.

Till date, children play around the inner area of the fort every day, and there is no control on the visitors who come inside the fort at night. The nuisance of alcohol bottles in the vicinity of the fort is an indication that visitors trespass at night but the ASI has not been able to decipher where exactly they enter the form from.

The Archaeological Survey of India Superintendent of Telangana State, Dr. Milan Kumar Chauley, said, “There are too many areas inside and outside the fort which would require to be closed. However, for that, we would require a lot of personnel in the area to protect the complete site.”

With too many encroachments around, the work of the ASI is now restricted only to the segment within, and outside only within 100 to 200 meters from the fort area to ensure that the monument is not further damaged.