Central Government demands petition to stop construction work of central vista should be rejected

New Delhi, 11/5 (Ao Bureau):The Central Government has demanded the Delhi High Court to dismiss the petition seeking a stay on the construction work of Central Vista. The Center on Tuesday responded to the plea seeking a halt to the construction work in the Central Vista project. Delhi High Court said that it will hear this petition on Wednesday. The High Court has directed the Center’s response to be brought on record.

During the hearing, the Center defended the work going on under the Central Vista project and said that the petition seeking to stop the construction of the project was “a gross misuse of the process of law and another attempt to stop the project”. The Center requested the Delhi High Court to dismiss the petition.

The Center told the Delhi High Court that as per the DDMA order dated 19.04.2021, during the curfew, construction works are allowed where the laborers stay at the construction site. The government also denied the claim that workers are brought daily from Sarai Kale Kha Camp. The work at Central Vista Avenue is to be completed by November 2021. The Center further said, “Workers working on the project are following social distancing and all other Kovid rules.”

What is Central Vista?
Anya Malhotra and Sohail Hashmi have filed a petition to stop the ongoing construction work under the Central Vista project. The petitioner has asked in his petition that ‘why or how’ is the project an essential service ‘. In this phase of the epidemic, there is no ‘service’ for the public at large in this project, nor is it a ‘necessary work’.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, presented the case before the bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh last week. He said that the petitioners are not seeking to stop this project but instead want an interim stay on the construction work during the epidemic.