The tomb, declared a world heritage site by the UNESCO in 1994, is one of the earliest Mughal monuments of Delhi and a prototype of the famed Taj Mahal. It is the Aga Khan Trust which has now decided to take care of it.

Caught in the middle of a controversy over the Trust's plan to ``investigate its waterworks,'' the tomb is also one of the first monuments in Delhi where the conservation efforts are being sponsored for the first time by private groups along with the government, courtesy the Aga Khan Trust, National Cultural Fund, Oberoi Group of Hotels and the Indo-British 50th Anniversary Trust.

Started at the initiative of the Indo-British Trust in 1997, the project's conservation programmes involve multi-sector intervention, a public foundation, the government, a private group of hotels and the community at large represented by the Indo-British Trust. Conservation Society of Delhi president Nalini Thakur is sceptical about the project and the ``secrecy'' around the plans. She says the plans should be displayed at the entrance to the tomb to inform the public about the project. ``Whatever their plans are, they should be displayed at the entrance of the monument so that visitors know what is planned here,'' she says.

The Rs 2-crore project funded by the Aga Khan Trust will involve the environmental development of the area around the tomb, reviving of water channels and improving pathways, besides carrying out structural repairs.

Though the decision to start the project was taken as far back as 1997, it has taken the partnership more than two years to complete an intensive research of the monument and the gardens around it. The trust has about 50 members and five trustees including HSBC director Jonathan Bond, eminent architect Sunita Kohli, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage member O.P. Jain, Roula Shriram and former British Naval attache Martin Howard.

One of the better-maintained tombs of Delhi, it is difficult to understand the choice of the project. Chief trustee and executor of the Trust, Jonathan Bond, says: ``It is not a big project. We did not want to do something too ambitious and begin something we cannot finish. That is why we chose the Humayun's Tomb.''

He adds that the investigation of the tomb's waterworks is ``historically important'' because it involved the borrowing of certain Central Asian concepts in bringing water from a source to the tomb.

He emphasises that the project is not about ``reviving the Mughal gardens.'' ``Mughal gardens are not gardens, they are orchards. People now like the grass and have a picnic. We will not be changing that but we have referred to miniatures and carpets to find out how the garden looked originally,'' he says. He added that the material may be put on display at an information centre near the tomb.

Taking a leaf out of Phillips Lamps' books after it provided the lighting at Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, the Oberoi Group of Hotels is investing Rs 30 lakhs to provide special lighting for the monument. ``We are not going to be floodlighting the monument. It is a tomb after all, so there will be glow lighting,'' said Bond.

About corporate sponsorship, director, monuments, Archaeological Survey of India, R.C. Aggarwal, says, ``There are a lot of issues connected with corporate sponsorships and initially there is much criticism, but we have to make a start somewhere.'' Conservators feel that antiquated conservation laws need to be updated. Critical about the number of groups involved, Nalini Thakur feels the efforts may be unplanned. Already involved in conservation-related issues in Delhi, CSD lawyer Joy Basu welcomes corporate involvement but feels several guidelines, legal and technical, are yet to be laid down to keep up with the changing trends in international conservation.

A three-year project, the work at Humayun's Tomb is at ``the beginning of the beginning,'' according to Aggarwal. ``The actual work will be undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust while the development of pathways, manpower, consultants and the like will be provided by the ASI,'' he said.