India, Aug. 10 -- A few hundred metres from Greater Kailash-1, the neatly lined bungalows, luxury boutiques and chic bars give way to cramped lanes, skies blocked by rows of tightly packed houses and their extended balconies, tangled overhead wires, unkempt streets and piles of uncleared trash.

But hidden from sight in this congested urban village, Zamrudpur, are centuries-old slices of Delhi's past. During spot checks in June and July, HT found at least four Lodhi-era tombs listed by the Delhi government as Grade 1 heritage buildings, walled off by unplanned houses and, in some cases, doubling up as storehouses, cattle sheds or even garbage dumps.

The towering tombs were built by Zamrud Khan, an Afghan noble during the reign of Sikanda...