SC rejects plea on Central Vista project

The Supreme Court was hearing the appeal against the May 4 order of the high court which had listed the PIL for hearing on May 17 saying it wants to first go through what the top court has deliberated in its judgement of January 5, giving a go-ahead to the ambitious project.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea against deferment of hearing on a PIL seeking direction to halt construction activity at the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment Project during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic but gave liberty to petitioners to approach the Delhi High Court for urgent listing of the matter.

The apex court was hearing the appeal against the May 4 order of the high court which had listed the PIL for hearing on May 17 saying it wants to first go through what the top court has deliberated in its judgement of January 5, giving a go-ahead to the ambitious project.

The apex court today asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra to mention the matter before the High Court for urgent listing on May 10.

"We are of the opinion that since the matter is pending before the High Court and the order challenged in the special leave petition is only of adjournment, we are not inclined to go into the merit of the case," a bench of Justices Vineet Saran and Dinesh Maheshwari said.

It said that in given circumstances, "We request Mr Luthra to file the petition himself or through any other counsel, to make a request before Delhi High Court on Monday (May 10) to take up the matter as early as possible."

It noted the submission of the senior advocate that the matter involves extreme urgency and said that the High Court may consider the prayer and pass orders.

At the outset, Luthra told the bench that the matter is of extreme importance as the country is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

He said they are only concerned with the challenge to the permission granted for the continuation of construction which is going on at Rajpath, Central Vista stretch and gardens.

Workers are being transported from Sarai Kale Khan and Karol Bagh area to Raj Path and Central Vista, where construction work is going on. This enhances the chances of spread of COVID infection among them, Luthra said.

He referred to the letter written by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for the continuation of construction work in the Central Vista project on the ground that it is time-bound work.

The permission was granted on the ground that it was essential activity. How is construction work an essential activity?

In a health emergency, we cannot risk the lives of workers and their families and put more pressure on the health care system, Luthra said adding that the peak of the second wave of COVID-19 is being anticipated by May 15 and High Court has listed the matter for May 17, which would not serve any purpose.

He said that when the nation is considering lockdown and even Indian Premier League is being shut, the construction activity cannot be allowed.

Justice Saran said, When we are sitting in closed rooms with face masks, it shows the situation is grim. We would not like to make any further comments on the COVID situation as other benches are seized of the matter, otherwise, our remarks may be misinterpreted.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Union government over the project, terming it a "criminal wastage" and asked the dispensation to focus on people's lives.

"Central Vista is criminal wastage. Put people's lives at the centre -- not your blind arrogance to get a new house," he said on Twitter.

However, terming Congress’s discourse on Central Vista as bizarre, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri said that cost of Central Vista is about ₹20,000 crore, over several years.

"GoI has allocated nearly twice that amount for vaccination! India’s healthcare budget for just this year was over ₹3 lakh crore. We know our priorities," he said.

He also said there are hundreds of projects being executed by various depts. Governance hasn’t come to a standstill, unlike Congress’s times of policy paralysis.

"Central Vista is just another ongoing project. It’s only the Congress that’s obsessed about it, nobody else," he added.

The top court disposed of the plea

The High Court has deferred the hearing on a PIL which had sought direction to the Centre to halt construction work at the Central project due to the prevailing COVID situation.

Petitioners Anya Malhotra, who works as a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary filmmaker, have claimed that the project has the potential to be a super spreader if allowed to continue during the pandemic.

They have said before the High Court that the continuation of the project was a matter of concern in view of the "crumbling" healthcare system and the lives at the stake of the workers employed at the construction site.

The project entails construction activity on Rajpath and the surrounding lawns from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan, the plea, filed through advocates Gautam Khazanchi and Pradyuman Kaistha, has said.

The project envisages constructing a new Parliament House, a new residential complex that will house the Prime Minister and the Vice-President, as well as several new office buildings and a Central Secretariat to accommodate Ministry offices.

(With inputs from PTI)