Park gets ready for Maya’s b’day

While the Supreme Court is yet to decide the fate of Noida’s Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Park, the project is set for inauguration next January 15 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, reports Abhishek Sharan.

While the Supreme Court is yet to decide the fate of Noida’s Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Park, the project is set for inauguration next January 15 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati.

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Construction is on round-the-clock and the park is “nearly 85 per cent” complete, said a Noida Authority (NA) official who requested anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to the media.

“The project is expected to be inaugurated by the CM soon, along with a few other educational/developmental projects in Noida,” the official said.

January 15, the official said, is Mayawati’s birthday and thus a suitable date to “offer the project’s services to the public”.

The project was originally meant to be inaugurated on October 9, which happens to be the death anniversary of Mayawati’s mentor Kanshi Ram, but the plan was shelved in view of the pending status of the case in the apex court.

A Supreme Court-appointed panel had recently established the fact that the project lacked mandatory central environmental clearances as per the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006 September, owing to its size and proximity to the centrally protected Okhla Bird Park and Wild Life Sanctuary (OBPWS), and had suggested work on it should be stopped till it acquired them.

A member of the apex-court panel had in fact submitted his ‘dissent note’ along with its recommendations arguing against the stoppage of work. The state government, which is executing the project, is expecting the apex court would not stop its work though it might ask the project to acquire the clearances.

Mayawati is also expected to inaugurate a clutch of other projects by the end of this year or early 2010.

These include the upgraded 100-bed Dr Ambedkar Super-Specialty District Hospital, the fully air-conditioned Savitri Bai Government Girls’ inter college and Panchsheel Government Boys’ inter college, and a coaching-cum-hostel facility for SC/ST candidates preparing for competitive exams.