Central Vista project: Supreme Court agrees to hear plea seeking a stay on construction

In a key development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea seeking a stay on the construction of the Central Vista project. The plea filed by Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi was first put forth before the Delhi High Court, which had refused to put a stay, and had adjourned the matter to May 17, after which the petitioner through his lawyer, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, had approached the Supreme Court. 

The plea reads, "The construction of the project cannot be equated to an essential activity. There is no exigency whatsoever in the construction of the project and there is no reason why the same cannot be suspended at a time when Delhi is facing an unprecedented health crisis. There is no rational basis to differentiate between workers engaged in the construction of the project and workers engaged in any other construction work. It cannot be stated that the construction being carried out as a part of the project is any more essential than the construction of other public services.

During the proceeding of the High Court on Tuesday, while the lawyer of the petitioners argued all the points mentioned, the Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing on behalf of the Centre, counter-argued and pushed for the construction to continue. The court bench, comprising Chief Justice DN Patil and Justice Jasmeet Singh showed its non-inclination to issuing notice in the plea, listed the matter for hearing on May 17. 

 The Central Vista Project

Announced by the Centre on September 13, 2019, the Central Vista project aims at redeveloping 86 acres of land in Delhi which has important structures including the Parliament, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, North Block and South Block. Moreover, the three km stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate will also be revamped. Many government buildings in this area shall be abolished paving the way for a new Parliament building, a common secretariat for Central government offices, the Prime Minister's Office and residence, SPG building and the Vice President enclave.

The new Parliament building will have a triangular shape with a seating capacity for 900-1200 MPs. It is likely to be constructed by August 2022 when India celebrates its 75th Independence Day. The estimated cost of the Central Vista Project has been revised from Rs.11,794 crore to Rs.13,450 crore. On January 5, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Dinesh Maheshwari, AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna cleared the Central Vista project by a 2:1 majority.

They were hearing a bunch of petitions that questioned whether the project complied with land use and environment regulations pertaining to the area that houses Parliament and Central Secretariat buildings. While upholding the validity of the grant of environmental clearance and the change in land use, Justices Maheshwari and Khanwilkar ordered the stepping up of a smog tower and usage of anti-smog guns at the construction site. Penning the minority judgment, Justice Khanna disagreed with the change of land use and the grant of environment clearance. 

(Credit-PTI/Representative Image)