SC 'parks' Mayawati projects

Apex court to hear case again on October 26

A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices S H Kapadia and Aftab Alam said, “The construction work in the park would be stalled till October 26, the next date of hearing.’’
However, the court allowed the Uttar Pradesh administration to carry on plantation and other maintenance work at the project site which is on the bank of the river Yamuna.
Rajkiya Nirman Nigam, a state government department, has spent Rs 188 crore for the construction of a central plaza with statues of Mayawati, Kanshiram, Dr B R Ambedkar and others.

The cost of each 18-feet tall bronze statue is Rs 1.5 crore, said S K Agarwal, project coordinator, in his reply to the RTI query on July 2. The court appointed Central Empowered Committee(CEC) in its report submitted that the project is built on 32 hectares areas which is adjacent to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary.

Advocate Harish Salve, appearing as amicus curie, said that the construction of the project would affect the flora and fauna of the sanctuary which is visited by scores of migratory birds every year.

Senior Advocate Jayant Bhushan appearing for the petitioner submitted that more than 6,000 trees had been cut for the establishment of the park. The area was earlier declared as a forest by the government even though it was a man-made vegetation.  

BSP chief defends memorials
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Friday justified memorials after Dalit icons, DHNS reports from Lucknow. “Dalit leaders such as B R Ambedkar, Kanshiram, Narayana Guru and C S Maharaj always fought for the establishment of an egalitarian society,” Mayawati said at a function after garlanding Kanshiram’s statue on the occasion of his third death anniversary. She said the memorials were meant to show respect and honour to the Dalit leaders.