Can’t stop traffic inside Cubbon Park, govt tells HC

The state government has informed the High Court that traffic movement within Cubbon Park cannot be avoided

The state government has categorically informed the high court that vehicular traffic within Cubbon Park cannot be avoided.

Rakesh Singh, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, stated in an affidavit that a meeting held on November 11, 2020, had decided that vehicular traffic through the city's premier lung space cannot be avoided and therefore must be allowed as was the case before the pandemic. The park was closed to traffic in view of the lockdown last year.

The Cubbon Park Walkers' Association had filed a contempt petition, stating that the government didn't obey the orders passed by the high court on October 22, 2020. Back then, the court had directed the government to consider the recommendation of the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) that vehicular traffic and parking should not be allowed inside the Cubbon Park. The association argued that the directorate's recommendation was not considered in the proper perspective.

Following the government's affidavit, while the court dropped the contempt proceedings, it gave the petitioner the liberty to scrutinise the decision (on allowing the traffic) as per the law. "However, if the complainant is not satisfied with the said decision, liberty is reserved to the complainant to assail the same in accordance with law,” the court said.