For MC, more than the legal tangle, it is a case of embarrassment. It's been barely a week since the Centre sanctioned Rs 25 crore to develop Amritsar as a major tourist destination. And MC's callous act of auctioning a land that's just a stone's throw from one of the t prominent landmarks of the city has surely not added any sheen to the holy city's potential to attract tourists. Worse, the digging around the site has endangered the protected monument.
Countering allegations regarding MC's insensitivity towards the city's heritage, assistant commissioner NC Kirpal said, "MC had auctioned the land only after the state government gave permission. Now that a case has been filed, we have asked government to intervene and resolve the issue."
For ASI, this case would add to the legal actions it has been taking against those who damage precious heritage. "Throughout Punjab and Haryana, we are currently fighting around 15 cases to safeguard various heritage sites. The legal route is usually the last resort, but perhaps the t effective way to salvage historic monuments," said VC Sharma, deputy superintending archaeologist, Chandigarh circle of ASI.
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