Delhi HC wants the Centre and Delhi government to tell if green concerns should get priority over the on-going construction on the Yamuna bed in the name of 'national interest'.
NEW DELHI: Is national interest above environment issues? The Delhi High Court seems unclear and wants the Centre and Delhi government to tell if green concerns should get priority over the on-going construction on the Yamuna bed in the name of 'national interest'.
Raising several questions on the issue, Justice Gita Mittal said "The construction is being raised in the name of national interest. (But the question that remains to be answered is) whether the interest of ecology and environment...would have a priority over other claims,"
In another query related to the construction's implication for Delhiites, it asked "Whether construction activities on the river bed and flood plains are a violation of citizens' fundamental right to life and the Delhi Master Plan 2021?"
The court also wanted to know from the governments if the existence of Akshardham Temple on the river bed gave sanctity to all other constructions.
Justice Mittal raised the queries while hearing a petition alleging that construction on the river bed would damage the banks' ground water purifying potential.
Finally, she referred the matter to a Division Bench headed by Justice A K Sikri, which is presently hearing a PIL challenging the construction of Commonwealth Games village on the river bed.
Asking advocate M C Mehta to assist the division bench over this issue, Justice Mittal sought to know "if the constructions on the river bed amounted to the dereliction of duty by the state to clean the river?"
The court observed that the issues raised by petitioner Vinod Jain were of far-reaching consequences and had a bearing on not only the lives of citizens but also the environment.
Noting that Yamuna's polluted water has been declared unfit for human and animal consumption or any other purpose, the Court questioned "under such circumstances should the state allow any other construction/encroachment on the river bed?"
Justice Mittal took note of the petitioner's contention that the government bodies have violated the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in a PIL related to cleaning of Yamuna.
When Jain claimed the apex court had banned all construction within 300 meter in the river bed, the court asked "whether the construction of Akshardham temple gives sanctity to all constructions...?
The petitioner also alleged that DDA had ignored two reports of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in 1999 and 2005 pointing that construction on the river banks would damage the eco-system and started various construction activities in the name of development.
The petition will now come up before a Bench headed by Justice Sikri on January 2 next year.
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