In the 1950s, the ownership of Batashewala complex was given to the Bharat Scouts & Guides to serve as a camping ground. This led, in 1989, to the construction of 150 structures. Enclosure walls were demolished, disfiguring the landscape and the historic character. The levelling of land required to build the buildings also led to collapse of the Chota Batashewala – a protected monument – when its foundations were exposed. Following twelve years of effort by the ASI and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), the ownership was restored to the ASI in 2010, allowing systematic conservation and landscape restoration to be undertaken by the AKTC with support from US Ambassadors’’ Fund for Cultural Preservation.
Following that, a detailed architectural documentation, condition mapping and the landscaping proposal for the 17 acre complex was prepared. Conservation Plan was approved by the Director General, ASI in early 2011, which was further discussed at Core Committee meetings. Conservation works commenced in November 2011 with scientific clearance of earth to reveal the foundation of missing portions of the enclosure wall.