Plea filed in Supreme Court against Delhi HC order allowing Central Vista construction

The plea said that the construction work involving a huge number of laborers during the peak COVID-19 pandemic period is a serious public health issue concern.

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New Delhi: Days after the Delhi High Court’s verdict allowing the construction of Central Vista construction, a plea was filed on Wednesday (June 2) before the Supreme Court challenging the order.

The plea, filed by Pradeep Kumar Yadav, said that “the high court failed to appreciate that a bigger construction work with huge number of innocent laborers workers continuing their work during the peak COVID-19 pandemic period is a serious public health issue concern.”

"High Court was not justified in holding that the Central Vista Avenue Redevelopment project is essential activities during the peak COVID-19 Pandemic crisis, especially when the whole country has stopped essential functioning during the lockdown period," said the plea.

It further said that the high court was not justified in calling the petition motivated and “not a genuine public cause by drawing presumption and assumption in the absence of proven material facts and evidence”.

On May 31, the Delhi High Court dismissed the plea for halting the construction work of the Central Vista saying it was a "vital and essential" national project.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh said that the petition was "motivated" and "not a genuine PIL". It also said as the workers are staying on the site, there is no question of suspending the construction work for the project.

The Central Vista is an ambitious project of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government, which aims to redevelop a 3.2-km stretch called the Central Vista that lies at the heart of Lutyens Delhi built by the Britishers in the 1930s.

The project involves demolishing and rebuilding several government buildings, including iconic landmarks, and constructing a new Parliament at a total cost of Rs 20,000 crore.