The Center told the High Court that this PIL is another attempt to stop the project and has urged the court to impose a penalty on the petitioners.
The Delhi High Court has accepted a petition seeking to stall work on the Central Vista project amid a massive surge in the Covid-19 cases. The Center told the High Court that this PIL is another attempt to stop the project and has urged the court to impose a penalty on the petitioners. The Center alleged that the intention of filing the petition is clear from the fact that the petitioners have questioned the same project, while several other agencies including Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) are engaged in the construction activities too.
A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh said that since this affidavit of the Center is not yet on record, the case will be heard on May 12. The court also accepted the plea for the early hearing of the petitioners Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi. The petitioners have argued that the project is not an essential activity and therefore, it may be put on hold in the wake of the epidemic.
Executive Engineer, Central Vista Project Division-3, CPWD, Rajiv Sharma said that the petition filed before the High Court is a gross misuse of the process of law and it is an attempt to stop the project under cover of the Covid-19 situation. The Center said that a covid facility has been set up at the workplace itself for 250 workers expressing a desire to continue work on the project.
The affidavit emphasizes that the important thing is that by having a dedicated medical facility at the worksite concerned, workers will have immediate access to medical care and their proper care, which would otherwise be extremely difficult. It has been argued that in this unprecedented time when there is a lot of burden on our existing medical infrastructure and the labourers are quite safe here.
The affidavit states that as per para 8 of the DDMA order dated 19 April 2021, construction activities are permitted during the curfew where the labourers reside at the site.
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