The Supreme Court today directedthe Gujarat government to file a survey report of thereligious sites which were damaged and destroyed during the2002 riots in the state.
A bench of justices K S Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misraalso asked the state government to quantify the amount neededfor building and repairing those sites that were affected bythe riots.
The court gave the directions on an appeal filed by theGujarat government challenging a Gujarat High Court orderdirecting it to pay compensation for damage and destruction ofthe religious sites.
At the very start of the proceedings, the Gujaratgovernment said that the state exchequer could not be used forbuilding and repairing religious sites.
The bench, however, said it would look into the issuewhether public funds could be used for restoring the damagedsites.
"You compensate if a house is washed away in a flood orif it is damaged in an earthquake. Then why not in case of areligious place?" the bench asked.
The court directed the state government to file anaffidavit with regard to the religious sites affected by theriots and posted the matter for further hearing on July 30.