NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on a plea seeking a stay on the demolition drive near Mehrauli Archaeological Park in the national capital until a fresh demarcation of the area is conducted.
During the hearing before Justice Mini Pushkarna, the DDA submitted that the demolition drive was in accordance with the orders passed by the High Court in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Delhi Waqf Board. After the submissions, the court without interfering in the demolition process issued notice to the respondents in the matter and placed it before the Chief Justice-led division bench.
“Considering the submissions made and the fact that similar issue is already being considered by a Division Bench of this court, it is deemed expedient to place the matter before the Division Bench,” the court said posting the matter for February 17. The development came during the hearing of a plea moved by the Mehrauli Minorities Resident and Shop Owners Welfare Association.
The petition contended that the DDA had started its demolition at Ladha Sarai village near Mehrauli Archaeological Park, stating that the area has various sites of religious importance to Muslims. There are many slums also in the area, as per the plea. The petitioner stated that the D
DA was demolishing these structures without consulting the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and the land-owning agency. It was argued that the revenue minister of the Delhi government said on February 11 that a fresh “demarcation report” should be prepared as the present report has “certain objections” and, in the meantime, no demolition exercise should be carried out.
“When there is no fresh demarcation report, how are they carrying out demolition?” the petitioner’s counsel asked. The case concerns the demolition drive reportedly being carried out by the DDA to clear encroached forest land in Mehrauli ahead of the next month’s G20 meeting.