HC orders demolition of marriage hall near temple

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday ordered the civic body to demolish extended construction around a temple standing on an AUDA plot reserved for waterworks in Thaltej.



The trust managing the two-decade old temple was constructing a marriage hall beside the temple.
Acting on a PIL filed by one Gaurangsinh Chudasama objecting to the construction activity, a division bench headed by Chief Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya ordered the authorities to remove the new construction or else the civic body would have to pay penalty.
Last month, the bench ordered a stay on construction activity and sought AMC’s explanation as whether it wanted to remove the illegal structure.
According to the petitioner, the civic body had reserved a plot in its Town Planning Scheme-1 and marked it as 51 for establishing facilities of water distribution near Thaltej.
In 1994, a small temple came to be constructed on this AUDA plot, which was later in 1998 expanded into a
2,500-yard plot.
The petitioner has claimed that the trustees of this temple raised funds and began construction of a marriage hall near the temple.
In the past, the residents of societies surrounding the temple were prosecuted for construction of this temple in a public plot, but the court acquitted them all when it came to court’s notice that the temple was put up by some other people and residents were actually opposed to the construction.
However, the civic body did not take any action against the trustees looking after the small temple.
When the high court issued notice to the authorities, AMC informed the court that it had brought to notice of AUDA for removal of construction and to stop encroachers, but it did nothing in this regard.
In June this year, the municipal commissioner even sanctioned the proposal to remove the temple, and the drive was to take place after July 13 in wake of Rathyatra festival.
After Rathyatra festival, AMC wrote to police commissionerate to provide police force to the corporation employees when they go to remove illegal construction on AUDA plot.
AMC has also urged police to restrict the trustees of the temple from putting up further construction and issued a notice to the trust to remove the construction.
The court ultimately asked the civic body to remove the new construction near the temple within a month and kept further hearing on October 18.