New Delhi:
Days after Nitin Panigrahi, nodal officer for the Chandni Chowk redevelopment project, was sent on “leave” by the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), the Delhi High Court on Friday said he would continue in the post.
The court ordered that Panigrahi would be present in the court on every date of hearing to ensure the implementation of its orders regarding the project.
A bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Talwant Singh reiterated that officers from different departments, nodal officers associated in the redevelopment work and implementation of various orders of the court in the Chandni Chowk redevelopment project, should not be shifted out without its prior permission.
The SDRC had asked Panigrahi to proceed on “leave” after he insisted on removing some structures in Chandni Chowk in connection with the project.
Highlighting its earlier orders passed in 2016, 2017 and 2018, the court said, “They (nodal officers) should not be shifted out without prior permission of the court. It is in this context that the court directs that Panigrahi, the nodal officer of the SRDC, will continue to remain as such and be present in this court on every date of hearing...”.
The court was hearing a plea on the redevelopment of the Chandni Chowk area and, among other things, had been issuing orders for decongesting the area.
{{/usCountry}}The court was hearing a plea on the redevelopment of the Chandni Chowk area and, among other things, had been issuing orders for decongesting the area.
{{/usCountry}}On Friday, the court was hearing an application seeking to modify its orders directing the lieutenant-governor (LG) to remove religious structures that were acting as encroachments in the redevelopment plan.
On Thursday, a committee formed to look after religious structures in the capital told the bench they had decided that a Hanuman Mandir and a Shiv Mandir should be made an integral part of the redevelopment plan. The committee reports to the L-G.
“It was decided that they (religious structures) may be allowed to exist at the present site after dismantling the platform (chabutra) existing around the temple. Similarly, it has been decided that Bhai Matidas Smarak may be an integral part of the beautification and redevelopment plan to showcase the heritage of Indian history,” the court noted.
The bench was told the consultant had presented two options but had been asked to submit a clear drawing showing the present status and the proposed plans separately through PWD and SRDC in the next meeting.
The court asked Pradeep Sachdeva, the consultant, to be present in court in the next hearing with relevant drawings and explain how the proposals to keep the religious structures can be implemented.
The bench said Public Works Department (PWD) should not stop work in view of the religious committee’s decision. The matter would be now heard on November 14.