Apex court stays HC order on Games village

The SC stayed a Delhi HC order to constitute a panel to keep a tab on ecological compatibility of the construction of Commonwealth Games village on the banks of Yamuna, report Satya Prakash and Harish V Nair.

The Centre and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Friday got a major relief from the Supreme Court, which stayed a Delhi High Court order to constitute a panel to keep a tab on ecological compatibility of the construction of Commonwealth Games village on the banks of Yamuna.

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The November 3 high court order had put a question mark over the legality of the construction that was made subject to the report of the committee headed by Nobel laureate R.K. Pachauri.

The SC order assumes significance as the DDA is racing against time to complete the project before deadline. The HC had warned that if despite pendency of the writ petitions the government and DDA were raising constructions, they were doing so at their own peril.

A bench passed the order after Solicitor General G.E. Vahanvati pointed out all necessary clearances were taken before initiating the project. The SC also dismissed a similar petition challenging construction of Akshardham Temple on a nearby plot.

As senior advocate Arun Jaitely, on behalf of the builder, said: “Our fate hangs in balance,” Vahanvati added: “We have given a sovereign guarantee to the private party.”

The DDA rushed to the Supreme Court on a day when the HC was set to decide on other committee members to assist Pachauri.

On government’s plea, the bench also stopped the Delhi High Court from conducting any hearing on the matter related to the ongoing construction of the Games Village till December 15.

Questioning the High Court’s step of delivering its verdict, a full eight months after its last hearing on a lawsuit opposing the construction of the 2010 Commonwealth Games Villages, the government contended “the high court ruling would seriously jeopardise the very conduct and holding of the 2010 games in Delhi”.