Gave redevelopment nod after assurance of no governmentalisation of Sabarmati Ashram: Trust

The Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT), which manages the famous ashram founded by Mahatma Gandhi, on Thursday, told Gujarat High Court that it consented to state government’s redevelopment project after getting “absolute assurance” that there won't be “governmentalisation” of the ashram.

The counsel for SAPMT, citing the name of SAPMT’s chairperson, Padma Bhushan and Magsaysay award winner, and “internationally known Gandhian” Ela Bhatt, said: “No decision is taken lightly. Government was also well aware of the apprehension of other people and Gandhians. In a round of meeting this was clarified there was no question of governmentalization and departmentalisation of Gandhi Ashram. The consent in principle was given on an absolute assurance, which we don't doubt and neither should the petitioner.”

A division bench of the high court, led by chief justice Aravind Kumar, is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Tushar Gandhi against the state’s redevelopment project of the ashram. The great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi petitioned the court saying that the redevelopment project was likely to undermine Gandhian values by turning the ashram into a mere “tourist attraction”.

He also requested the court that any redevelopment work, if needed, should be carried out only by the trusts running the ashram, including Sabarmati Ashram Harijan Trust (SHAT) and Gandhi Smarak Nidhi (GSN), an umbrella of Gandhian organisations, while the government may fund it.

Along with the state government, all other trusts concerned have opposed involving the GSN in the project including SAPMT and SHAT, which are two key trusts. Representing SAPMT in the court, senior counsel Mihir Joshi said that GSN can’t have supervision and control over its work. Joshi said: “Consent (to the project) is not ambiguous neither have we given a go by on the objects of ensuring Gandhiji’s principles ... with assurances and solemn affidavit coming from the government, and concept note of the project (is) also being prepared in consultation with everyone."

Bhatt, environmentalist Kartikeya Sarabhai, Gandhian scholar Sudarshan Iyengar, industrialist Nitin Shukla, and former director of the National School of Design Ashoke Chatterjee are the trustees of SAPMT. The trust has ownership of over five acres of land on which the present-day Gandhi Ashram is situated. SAPMT is the custodian of Gandhi’s physical and intellectual heritage, which has been running autonomously since its inception in 1951.

To implement the Rs 1,200 crore redevelopment project, the state government has set up a new trust: the Mahatma Gandhi Sabarmati Ashram Memorial Trust (MGSAMT). Its website states: “The present ashram is a deeply inspiring place, yet it has long been felt that it leaves much to be desired. The Trust is on a mission to give the world Gandhiji’s ashram at Sabarmati back in its truest form.”

The website further states that while the central government is funding the project, the state government is managing it “in consultation and consensus with all stakeholders, ashramwasis and the Trusts, namely Sabarmati Ashram Preservation & Memorial Trust, Sabarmati Harijan Ashram Trust, Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala, Khadi Gramodyog Prayog Samiti, and Gujarat Khadi Gramodyog Mandal.”

In his PIL, Tushar raised the concern that this trust will have wide power and can undermine the autonomy of existing trusts. His lawyer argued that there was a “plurality of government officials as its (MGSAMT) members, while the existing trusts and its associates are in (the) minority.”

Gandhi’s lawyer also said that the new trust was not just to implement the project, but it would also be managing the redeveloped ashram as well. He said that this state-controlled trust could appoint and remove anyone and that it would be “well within their rights and can control day-to-day functioning.”

The state government, on its part, defended the move to set up an entirely new trust and claimed that it was formed for “enhanced coordination and consultation between the trusts and the government.”

The government, in a note, told the court: “...The proposed project envisages vital role of all stakeholders to ensure that autonomy of Trusts is maintained, and the development work is carried out in accordance with the values that have guided the trusts.”

The hearing will be continued on Friday.

The redevelopment plan envisages to expand the existing Sabarmati Ashram, where tourists flock, into 55 acres of land by joining the existing trusts who work independently, such as SAPMT, SHAT, Khadi Gramodyog Samiti, Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala and Harijan Sevak Sangh.