Chandigarh administration mulls moving SC over HC order for paver blocks in green belt

The Chandigarh administration is contemplating approaching the Supreme Court against the February 7 order of the high court (HC) whereby the latter directed the administration to lay paver blocks in a green belt adjacent to the HC complex to facilitate parking of vehicles.

This will be for the second time the administration is moving the apex court in these proceedings against a high court order. Earlier, the UT did so in January against the November 29 order whereby the high court had directed construction of a verandah outside the chief justice’s court even as the UT had expressed its reservation, arguing that implementing HC order without UNESCO approval may take away the World Heritage tag. The HC building is part of the Capitol Complex, designed by acclaimed French architect Le Corbusier, and was designated a World Heritage site in 2016. Construction at a heritage site is prohibited without approval from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

The information that UT is contemplating to approach the apex court against the February 7 order for laying green paver blocks in a green belt was shared by UT’s senior standing counsel with the HC on March 7 during the resumed hearing of a 2023 public interest litigation (PIL), filed by Vinod Dhaterwal, an office-bearer of the high court employees’ association, demanding infrastructure development of the HC complex in the wake of increasing traffic congestion, space crunch and implementation of a holistic development plan.

The plan, conceptualised more than a decade back, envisages setting up of multi-storey buildings to cater to the requirement of additional space at the high court complex. However, the plan had to be put on hold as the Capitol Complex was declared a World Heritage site in 2016. It was during these proceedings that the idea of demolishing the Rock Garden wall had come up as part of decongestion plan in the vicinity of the high court.

Meanwhile, the high court has disposed of the applications from two city residents —75-year-old Tarlochan Singh and Pallav Mukherjee — seeking impleadment in the case. They are opposing demolition of wall adjacent to Rock Garden, which has resulted in public outcry alleging that “heritage is being compromised” at iconic Rock Garden for a road widening and parking project. The court said it appeared that the applicants desired to widen the scope of the PIL by including issues of urban planning and ecological conservation, which cannot be permitted. The UT completed demolition work on Sunday morning. UT’s counsel told the court that additional parking space and widened road work would be completed by April 30 in place of the wall in question.

Notably, there is an extreme shortage of parking space at the high court amid the rise in lawyers and litigants over the years. On any given hour, about 3,000-4,000 four-wheelers reach the HC complex, out of which at least 2,000, if not more, are permanently parked.

The existing underground multi-level parking which has three tiers can accommodate only 600 four-wheelers while the remaining vehicles are parked in the open parking areas. The court has 10,000 lawyers coming in daily, besides, hundreds of employees and litigants from two states and Chandigarh, translating into severe chaos. It is because of these reasons that this petition was initiated and HC has taken a serious view of lack of infrastructure at the high court complex.