SC ORDERS MAYA TO STOP STONEWORK AT NOIDA PARK

The Supreme Court on October 9 ordered stoppage of all construction and stonework in Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Park, Noida, where statues of Chief Minister Mayawati and her guru late Kanshiram were to be installed. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan, however allowed the NOIDA Authority to continue with greenery and beautification work such as planting of trees and flowers in the sprawling 33 hectare Noida park. The bench, also comprising Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justice Aftab Alam, which had on July 10 refused to stay the work in the Noida Park, issued the stay order on the basis of Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which had recommended suspension of all construction work pending clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. It also asked the Ministry to respond to the CEC’s report by October 26, the next date of hearing. The order comes a month after another bench headed by Justice B.N. Agrawal on September 8 stopped all construction activities at 24 memorial sites in Lucknow being built in the names of Dalit icons.