CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Wednesday directed for utilisation of Rs 1.25 crore deposited by Shyam Baba Charitable Trust for development of roads in Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) area.
The Court had directed the Trust to deposit the amount as part of contempt case proceedings on July 30.
The division bench of Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice KR Mohapatra directed utilisation of 90 per cent of the amount of restoration and repair of roads in different parts of the city and the rest 10 per cent on development of areas around the temple constructed by the Trust.
The Court further directed Cuttack Collector BS Chayani and CMC Commissioner Ananya Das to jointly prepare a detailed plan for utilisation of funds and submit it before the court on August 26, the date for next hearing on the contempt case.
The High Court had registered a suo motu contempt case after the Trust did not respond to notices issued on a PIL petition and the then secretary of the Trust also did not respond to orders for appearing in person before the court. The Trust had constructed a temple in Alamchand Bazaar area in 2013.
The PIL petition was filed in 2015 for the demolition of the temple as it was constructed on Jalasaya Kissam land without the approval of Cuttack Development Authority (CDA). The Court had issued a notice for a reply the same year. But, it was found in March this year that no reply had been filed in all these years.
There was no response to fresh notices issued by the Court. Secretary of the Trust did not respond though the Court directed him to be personally present on several dates after the CDA filed an affidavit stating that the temple was constructed illegally without its approval. A resident of the locality Dr Debadutta Acharya filed the PIL in April 2015.