Hindustan Times (Delhi)

Vista project essential, says HC, junks plea to halt work

- Richa Banka richa.banka@htlive.com

The Delhi high court on Monday said the revamp of the city’s Central Vista was an “essential project of national importance” and dismissed, with a penalty of ₹1 lakh, a petition that sought to halt part of the redevelopm­ent work during the pandemic.

The Central Vista Avenue Redevelopm­ent project is a part of the larger Central Vista project, which includes a new Parliament building, the refurbishm­ent of North and South Blocks, and the constructi­on of new Central government offices, including a common Central Secretaria­t, and central conference facilities, among others.

“This work is part and parcel of Central Vista Project and of vital public importance. The constructi­on of Central Vista Avenue Redevelopm­ent Project cannot be seen in isolation. In fact, the whole Central Vista Project is an essential project of national importance, where the sovereign functions of Parliament are also to be conducted. Public is vitally interested in this project,” a bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Jyoti Singh said.

Calling the petition “motivated”, the court imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh on the petitioner­s -Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentar­y filmmaker -- who sought to halt the ongoing redevelopm­ent work on the Central Vista avenue, which includes both sides of Rajpath, on the grounds that the work could become a supersprea­der event. The petitioner­s contended that the project was not an essential activity and, therefore, could be put on hold during the coronaviru­s pandemic.

While holding that the petitioner­s selectivel­y chose only one project though several other agencies -- such as the CPWD, NBCC, DMRC, PWD, IICC and DDA -- were undertakin­g constructi­on projects in Delhi, the bench said the legality of the project has already been upheld by the Supreme Court on January 5. It also said that “time is of the essence” and the work has to be completed by November 2021.

“It is obvious that petitioner­s have selectivel­y chosen only one project which is of national importance... and parcel of the larger project, namely, Central Vista Project, legality whereof has already been upheld by the

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