NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has approved a redevelopment plan for the Kalkaji temple in South Delhi and asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take forward the process. The plan for the redevelopment of the temple and its precincts was approved by Justice Prathiba M Singh while hearing the batch of petitions on civic amenities and cleanliness in and around the temple complex.
The court directed that the layout plan submitted by the architects be forwarded by the temple administrator to the Town Planning Department of the MCD. “The officials of the MCD shall hold joint meeting with the architects and the Administrator so that the first portion of the landscaping can be commenced and the process of getting approvals for the redevelopment of the Shri Kalkaji Mandir can commence.
The MCD shall also inform the Architect if any approval is required from the Ridge Management Board, Delhi,” said the court in a recent order. The broad contours of the proposed redevelopment were shown to the court by way of plans, sketches and a video. “The above plans are accordingly approved,” the court said. The court sought a report in the matter before January 12 while clarifying that the redevelopment plan shall also be forwarded to the Department of Delhi Fire Services at an appropriate stage.
The court said the redevelopment plan does not in any manner take away the rights vested in the land on which the temple is situated as it was being implemented merely to provide amenities and facilities to the devotees and making it more accessible to them.
In 2021, Justice Singh had appointed retired high court judge Justice J R Midha as the administrator of the temple. It had also directed removal of encroachments and unauthorised occupants and shopkeepers, who did not have any valid legal rights to occupy the space, and appointed Goonmeet Singh Chauhan, a renowned architect who has undertaken various projects of public importance, to submit a redevelopment plan for the temple and the complex where it is located.