SC pulls up Centre for going ahead with its Central Vista

Allows PM to lay foundation stone for new Parliament building on Dec. 10

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Centre for going ahead with its Central Vista project despite the challenge to the `20,000-crore project pending before it, but allowed the foundation-laying of a new Parliament building by Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday, December 10, after the Centre assured the court that no construction or demolition work would be done till the case is finally decided.

“We have shown deference to you and expected that you will act in a prudent manner. The same deference should be shown to the court and there should be no demolition, nor construction nor any felling of trees,” said Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, who headed a bench that also comprised Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Sanjiv Khanna.

The court took suo motu cognisance of the activities linked to the Central Vista project, including the construction of a new Parliament building, saying: “We have listed this matter because of certain developments we came across in the public

THE APEX Court took suo motu cognisance of the activities linked to the Central Vista project.

domain. We never thought you will go ahead so aggressively with the construction. The fact that there is no stay does not mean you can go ahead with everything,” the bench told solicitorgeneral Tushar Mehta as the matter was taken up for hearing Monday morning.

Mehta sought a day’s time to take instructions in the matter, but the court insisted on the Centre’s views being conveyed in just five minutes, and adjourned the hearing until then.

Taking on record a statement by the solicitor-general that “there will be no construction activity of any nature on the concerned site(s) nor demolition of any structure will be done, including the further trans-location of tree(s) will be kept in abeyance, until the pronouncement of the judgment in all these cases”, the court said, but permitted the authorities to “continue with procedural processes without altering the status of the site(s) in question in any manner, including to continue with the scheduled programme of foundation stone-laying on December 10, 2020.”

The Central Vista area in Lutyens’ Delhi houses iconic buildings like North and South Blocks of the Central Secretariat, Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate.

The petitioners before the Supreme Court have challenged a notification issued by the Delhi Development Authority on December 21, 2019 on the changes in land use for the area’s redevelopment. The court had reserved its ruling on November 5.