New Delhi, September 11: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that construction of the B R Ambedkar Park in Lucknow and six other memorials of Dalit icons be stopped immediately.
The Uttar Pradesh government had promised the court on September 8 that no construction would be carried out at the Ambedkar Park but work was continued. The court frowned upon the government for not following its undertaking and gave it six hours to stop construction.
In the supplementary Budget presented by the state on August 3, a sum of Rs 550 crore was earmarked for statues and memorials for Kanshi Ram, Ambedkar, and Chief Minister Mayawati herself.
The Supreme Court in June issued a notice to the government over plans to build 40 memorials. The memorials were estimated have cost Rs 2,000 crore of public money till then.
—Agencies