DELHI HC TO HEAR PLEA SEEKING TO HALT VISTA CONSTRUCTION

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court will hear on Tuesday a plea seeking to halt the construction of the Central Vista amid the raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The project envisages constructing a new Parliament House, a new residential complex for the Prime Minister and the Vice-President, as well as several new office buildings and a Central Secretariat.

A bench of chief justice DN Patel and justice Jasmeet Singh asked senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for the petitioner, to file an application for early hearing after he urgently mentioned the matter.

Luthra told the bench that he was mentioning the matter as the Supreme Court on May 7 asked the petitioners to seek urgent hearing before the high court on May 10.Petitioners, Anya Malhotra, who works as a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian, had moved the apex court against the high court’s May 4 order adjourning their plea to May 17. The high court had adjourned the matter saying it wants to study the apex court’s January 5 judgment which gave a go ahead to the Central Vista project. In the appeal before the Supreme Court, the petitioners had contended that the project was not an essential activity and therefore, it can be put on hold.

“Labours are being transported from Sarai Kale Khan and Karol Bagh area to Rajpath and Central Vista, where construction work is going on. This enhances chances of spread of COVID infection among them,” Luthra had told the apex court.

On Monday, he made the same argument before the high court.