New Delhi, Nov 14: The Supreme Court on Friday reiterated its stance that Mayawati government cannot be allowed to undertake any construction activity at the Ambedkar Memorial Park in Lucknow.
The court refused to accede to the Mayawati government’s request to allow it to undertake maintenance works at the Rs 2,600 crore memorial ahead of B R Ambedkar’s nirvana divas on December 6, ruling there had been “no change of circumstances” to grant the permission.
UP’s counsels, including Mayawati’s aide S C Mishra, argued that since lakhs of people were expected to come to the park for the nirvana divas, it was necessary to undertake “certain” works at the memorial.
Opposing the state’s plea, A M Singhvi, appearing for petitioners Mithilesh
Kumar Singh and Gomti Nagar Sanstha said such arguments “cannot be trusted” as the state had earlier violated the undertaking given to the court that it would stop all construction works at the site.
The SC had earlier ordered that all construction and maintenance activities at the site where memorials and statues of various dalit icons, including the chief minister herself, were being put up be stopped.
The apex court will hear on November 30 the “main matter related to the larger issue of whether such constructions could be carried out at the expense of tax-payers money”.
–Agencies