Orissa HC issues order flout notice to CMC on Mandaps

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Monday issued show cause notice to Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) for violating its order as well as guidelines relating to grant of conditional licences to Kalyan Mandaps.Hearing a petition filed by the High Court-appointed Amicus Curiae, a division bench comprising Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice KR Mohapatra asked the civic body to file a reply in shape of an affidavit before March 18, the next date for hearing on the case.

In August 2015, the High Court while hearing a PIL filed by E Venkat Rao seeking intervention for formulating guidelines for running of Kalyan Mandaps in Cuttack City, had appointed advocate Arun Kumar Budhia as the Amicus Curiae to assist in the case.The PIL said owing to lack of parking space, the Kalyan Mandaps were contributing to traffic congestion in the city. Besides, the facilities dumped waste at the roadside during social functions as none had a solid waste disposal system. The court then directed the civic body to come up with guidelines to regulate the Kalayan Mandaps while making licence from CMC mandatory for operating these facilities. 

As per the court’s direction, CMC came up with a new policy. It was approved by the court in August, 2016 and a sub-committee with the Amicus Curiae as a member was constituted to inspect the Mandaps before granting them licences. However, the Amicus Curiae filed a petition on September 3 last year stating that the civic body had granted conditional licence to Mandaps without consulting the sub-committee in direct violation of the court’s order. The petition sought a list of Kalyan Mandaps which were given conditional licence by the civic body.

The petition alleged that several Mandaps, which were issued conditional licences, did not satisfy the guidelines fixed by the court, particularly with regard to parking area, dumping of waste material and installation of CCTV cameras. It further stated that in case of violation, no fines were collected by CMC, which proved that officials of the civic body were hand in glove with Mandap owners. It also prayed the court to appoint an independent agency to investigate the matter and submit report for further action.