Nagpur: Coming down heavily on the district sports officer (DSO) Subhash Rewatkar for allotting the divisional sports complex at Mankapur for marriages, commercial events and other public and family functions, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court rapped him for misleading the court.
A division bench comprising justices Bhushan Dharmadhikari and Zaka Haq, while orally warning that the officer should be removed for not following his superiors’ orders, asked the divisional commissioner and collector to explain how they allowed such activities in the complex despite assuring the court in the last hearing.
The oral directives came while hearing a suo motu PIL (No 45/2017) based on media reports alleging gross misuse of the Kasturchand Park due to negligence of the district administration which often rents it out for commercial activities. Shreerang Bhandarkar was appointed as amicus curiae in the PIL.
In the last hearing on June 13, collector Ashwin Mudgal filed an affidavit denying allegations that the sports complex was offered for the marriages, commercial events etc. He informed that the deputy director of sports and youth services had submitted a written letter on June 16 on this. It’s only allotted on rent for sports, social, educational and cultural activities, he had asserted.
Citing the government resolution of March 26, 2003, Mudgal said the recurring expenditure and other needs are to be borne by the sports complex authorities by developing its own sources of income.
