Golconda Fort, the 16th century Qutub Shahi monument that had symbolised Hyderabad’s history, is in the danger of being mowed down by plans to extend the golf course created in the vicinity.
Environmentalists, who are up in arms against the project, have warned that the site would be erased from the city’s landscape if unbridled encroachment around the area and the government-sponsored construction activities are not halted immediately.
At the centre of the controversy is the proposed 18-hole golf course being laid out on 212.17 acres within the fort’s protected areas. Fifty acres of the sprawling fairways would fall within the area of the fort’s compound called ‘Naya Qila’, an extension built around 1629 to save the old fort from the Mughals, NGO representatives point out.
Besides the damage it would cause to the monument, the golf course has also threatened the fort’s World Heritage Status as Unesco has warned that it would be removed from the list of protected sites “if the construction within its compound is not halted”.
“The golf course is being developed in gross violation of the Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958,” said M Vedakumar, president of the city-based NGO Forum for Better Hyderabad.
Referring to the January 1986 ASI notification which declares the site—a prohibited area for construction and mining— Vedakumar said: “No formal permission has been obtained yet, from the Archaeological Survey of India, under whose protection the monument exists.”
Conservationists allege that promoters of the golf course have violated the rules by allowing construction within 100 metres of the site.
Notwithstanding the protests and notifications, the state government gave permission for the golf course in 2001, ostensibly to promote tourism and prevent further encroachments in the area.
The serious violations include changing the contours of the land, digging the soil in the prohibited area, filling up of the moat around the fort, using of heavy machinery, cutting and blasting rocks in the Naya Qila area endangering the foundation of the fort and preventing access to tourists and the public.
NGO representatives are demanding cancellation of the golf course project in the fort area and restoration of heritage structures by reversing damages caused to the structure.
The Unesco has already expressed concerns over the laying of the golf course.
“They initially developed a nine- hole golf course at Jamalikunta area adjoining the fort, and now they are concentrating on extending the course inside the walls of Naya Qila,” the NGO representative said adding that the promoters had done lot of damage to the monument.
However, the HGA claimed the golf course would not damage the heritage site. “We have the necessary permissions and work is being executed under the direct supervision of an expert committee,” HGA Chairman Captain Asadulla Pasha said.