New Delhi, Jan 16: The Delhi High Court has sought responses of the Centre and Rajghat Samadhi Committee on a PIL alleging that the monument set up in memory of Mahatma Gandhi is not being properly maintained.
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath issued notice on Friday to the Centre, the committee and North Delhi Municipal Corporation, in whose jurisdiction the area falls, and sought their replies by March 9.
The order came on the plea filed by Shyam Narayan Chouksey who claimed that the samadhi of Gandhi “was not at all being properly and cleanly maintained”.
He alleged that despite bringing the issue to the attention of the committee, which is entrusted with maintaining the monument, and the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), there has been no change in the situation.
In the petition filed through advocates Abhinav Shrivastava and Sameer Jain, Chouksey submitted photos of the various deficiencies that he had come across when he had visited the monument in 2014 and then again last year, when he claims the situation had worsened.
He sought directions to MoUD to “stringently apply principles of cleanliness and sanitation at the Rajghat Samadhi, failing which the Ministry should be held liable and penalised for the same”.
It also sought directions to MoUD “to issue strict instructions to the President and Secretary of the Rajghat Samadhi Committee to perform their duties strictly as provided under the Act and Rules and to make the Rajghat Samadhi a world class monument”.
The petition has also sought directions to the Rajghat Samadhi Committee “to carry out repair and maintenance work”.
“To ensure proper maintenance and upkeep of the Samadhi a mechanism should be evolved by MoUD so that once the things are set right at the Samadhi similar situation should not develop again in future.
“For this, the government may form an independent committee of experts such as civil engineer, public health engineer, expert from horticulture department and expert in Gandhian philosophy,” the PIL has said.
