Spatial Data Modeling in Gis for Historical Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Heritage of Seven Cities of Delhi

Delhi is one of the ancient historical and greatest cultural cities of the World. Delhi’s two monuments the Qutb Minar and Humayun’s Tomb have been declared the World Cultural Heritage sites. Delhi was built and rebuilt seven times on different sites through out the history within a triangular area of about 142.20 sq. kms. lying between the last ridge of the Aravalli Range and the River Yamuna. The remains of the seven cities of Delhi can still be seen across the landscape from the Tomar city of Lal-Kot to Siri, Tughluqabad, Jahanpanah and Firuzabad of the Sultans and then Purana-Qila and Shahjahanabad of the Mughals. Moreover, the New Delhi is historically the ‘eighth city’ built by the Britishers. The present Delhi is a complex agglomeration of built fabric which exists as evidence in the form of layers of various historic time periods. It is noteworthy to mention that the vertical and horizontal expansions have adversely been affected the historical areas as well as several cultural heritage sites particularly during the postindependence period in Delhi. Therefore, the widened role is not only to meet the challenges of development, but also to preserve and protect the different facets of the Delhi’s personality. In lieu of this, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been started a search for hitherto unknown areas of historical importance on the one hand and is also entrusted with the restoration and conservation of known historical monuments and cultural heritage sites in Delhi on the other.