MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday partially modified an interim order passed by it, restraining the Madurai corporation from carrying out construction work at Sundaram Park in Madurai. The court permitted authorities to carry on with the other construction work, except the stalls.
A bench of Justices MS Ramesh and AD Maria Clete modified the order while hearing a petition filed by the corporation, seeking to vacate the said interim order passed on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition against 40 food stalls proposed to be constructed on the park premises, situated on the bunds of the Vandiyur Tank in Madurai.
According to the petitioner, the Vandiyur Beautification Project kicked off in July 2023, with a budget of Rs 50 crore. He stated that under the project, 40 food stalls were to be constructed inside the park, near the Vandiyur tank. He raised concerns that the setting up of food stalls would lead to littering and contamination of the tank. It was also alleged in the previous hearing that the authorities have not obtained any NOC from the water resources department for commercial construction.
When the vacate stay petition was heard on Wednesday, the additional advocate general sought time to produce a NOC concerning the construction of shops. Recording this, the judges modified the order.