Gujarat HC rejects PIL challenging Rs 1,200 crore Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment plan

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday rejected the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Rs 1,200 crore Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project being implemented by State and Central governments.

The court while relying upon the State government's submission held that the "proposed project would not only promote the ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi which would be for the benefit of society and mankind at large, the said Gandhi Ashram would be a place for learning for mankind of all age groups."

The division bench of Chief Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice A J Shashtri pronounced the order upholding the State government's ambitious redevelopment plan.

The petition had been filed by Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. The court said that the Gujarat government stated in its affidavit ensuring that the plan is being undertaken in consultation with all the existing trusts managing the Ashram and related properties.

The petitioner, Tushar Gandhi, had approached the court stating that the plan was "diametrically opposed to the personal wishes and bequeathal of Mahatma Gandhi and would reduce the shrine and memorial of our freedom movement which attracts national and international visitors and turn the same into a commercial tourist attraction."

Tushar Gandhi had suggested that in case of any redevelopment needed for the Ashram, it should be carried out only by the trusts running the ashram and New Delhi-based Gandhi Smarak Nidhi (GSN), an umbrella organisation of Gandhian institutes, while the government may fund it.

The state government had opposed the PIL and told the court that GSN didn't have "any superintendence over the Gandhi Ashram or over any other trusts associated with the Gandhi Ashram."

Other ashram trustees including Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT) and Sabarmati Harijan Ashram Trust (SHAT), among others also opposed Tushar Gandhi for involving GSN in the planning. SAPMT manages the popular Sabarmati Ashram, spread over five acres, where tourists flock.

The State government plans to merge six trusts associated with the original Gandhi Ashram and make them part of a bigger ashram, 55 acres, in the redevelopment plan.

The Gujarat government had told the court that looking at the present Sabarmati Ashram "imminent need to maintain the philosophy, message and legacy of Gandhiji for the future generation was felt."

It told the court "it was felt that for present and future generations Gandhi Ashram can be recreated to get a full sense of how the original Ashram was like and how it functioned at the time when Gandhiji was living there. The object of such development is solely, to promote the philosophy of Gandhiji."

"The facilities therein are not sufficient and engaging enough for visitors. Moreover, the rest of the Ashram land is fragmented and utilized for varied purposes. The proposed project seeks to undo the said fragmentation and bring to life the essence of Gandhi Ashram as it originally stood. In view thereof, the five-acre campus is to be expanded to 55 acres so as to include all 48 original Ashram buildings. The Chandrabhaga rivulet, which is presently a nalla, is to be developed as a pleasant Urban waterway," the government stated in the affidavit filed in the court.