New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) The Commonwealth Games village proposed along the Yamuna here has hit a roadblock with the Delhi High Court issuing notices to the government on a plea seeking protection of the riverbed.
A bench comprising Justices Rekha Sharma and A.K. Sikri has issued notices to the Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Delhi Metro Rail Corp and the ministries of environment and forests as well as urban development to file a reply to the issues raised in the petition.
The petition, from India’s ‘water man’ Rajendra Singh, the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) and People’s Action, has sought immediate stay on all construction on the riverbed and asked the court to direct the authorities to restore the riverbed as intended under the yet-to-be-notified River Regulation Zone.
Advocate Sanjay Parikh submitted that the river ecosystem has invaluable significance and that the wetland system and water recharge zone of the national capital needs to be protected.
Allowing the construction activity to continue would lead to floods in low-lying parts of Delhi, he warned, adding that DDA had gone ahead with clearing the area for the Games Village even after experts of the environment and forests ministry advised against permanent structures on the riverbed.
The petition has experts to corroborate the relevance of ecological services of the river system.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who favours the Games village, says that with 10,000 hectares of land available on the riverbed, the city cannot afford not to do anything with it.
Dikshit has defended the Games village on the ground that the construction of the nearby Akshardham temple a few years earlier was allowed during the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and because the Games village projects have received all necessary clearances.