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Nagpur: After their visit to Kasturchand Park (KP) on Saturday, judges of the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court directed all stakeholders to restore the glory of the historic place as early as possible.
While instructing all the authorities to stop passing the buck, justices Ravi Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala made it categorically clear that the place should be used only for sports like cricket and football.
The judges issued a series of directives to all stakeholders to improve KP’s pitiable condition, including levelling the surface after consulting experts, clearing debris, removal of paver blocks for the jogging track around the chatri (dome) and deployment of guards till the completion of the project. TOI has been at the forefront in reporting the utter neglect of the historic place by authorities since 2009.
Terming the deplorable condition of the chatri (dome) right at the centre of the ground as “painful”, the judges asked the stakeholders to immediately restore it with the help of experts from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). “Zarokhas (windows) are broken and the structure is damaged. Why didn’t all this catch the eye of the authorities? Why is there a delay in repairing the damaged portion? These zarokhas are natural air-conditioners to feel the breeze coming from them,” justices Deshpande and Ganediwala said while standing inside the dome.
After amicus curiae Shreerang Bhandarkar pointed out that the authorities laid paver blocks around the dome, which may hinder sporting activities, the judges called for their removal. Taking strong objection to the debris dumped by MahaMetro, they issued directions to ensure that the ground is not used as a dumping place.
Directing stakeholders, including the collectorate, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), its heritage committee and MahaMetro to work in tandem, the judges made it clear to them that they want to see results. “We know that development work won’t be completed in a day or two, but it should be expedited. We’re trying to help you out. So don’t hesitate to disclose your problems. Ensure that the ground’s ‘A’ grade heritage status is restored and anything short of that would not be acceptable to us.”
Stressing that the developmental work is being carried out in public interest, they exhorted the stakeholders to do their best work, without disturbing KP’s identity and maintaining its heritage.
Justice Deshpande also enquired about the canons that were found while digging work was under way at the ground and asked whether those can be displayed there itself.
Earlier, architect Ashok Mokha, a member of NMC’s heritage panel, explained the project to the judges, who told him to construct a plaque mentioning the dome’s heritage structure.
Bhandarkar pointed out that the place needs three-layer levelling and with the help of experts, it should be made like Shivaji Park in Mumbai where sporting activities take place. Claiming that Mokha has a conflict of interest, he said the architect is also the contractor for the entire project despite being a member of the heritage committee.
Collector Ravindra Thakare said that he would ensure that the project would be completed soon, including availability of funds from the district planning committee (DPC).
The new municipal commissioner, Radhakrishnan B, informed the judges that the NMC is merely a planning authority and that it would hand over the ground to the collector after the completion of the project as it belongs to the government.
While instructing all the authorities to stop passing the buck, justices Ravi Deshpande and Pushpa Ganediwala made it categorically clear that the place should be used only for sports like cricket and football.
The judges issued a series of directives to all stakeholders to improve KP’s pitiable condition, including levelling the surface after consulting experts, clearing debris, removal of paver blocks for the jogging track around the chatri (dome) and deployment of guards till the completion of the project. TOI has been at the forefront in reporting the utter neglect of the historic place by authorities since 2009.
Terming the deplorable condition of the chatri (dome) right at the centre of the ground as “painful”, the judges asked the stakeholders to immediately restore it with the help of experts from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). “Zarokhas (windows) are broken and the structure is damaged. Why didn’t all this catch the eye of the authorities? Why is there a delay in repairing the damaged portion? These zarokhas are natural air-conditioners to feel the breeze coming from them,” justices Deshpande and Ganediwala said while standing inside the dome.
After amicus curiae Shreerang Bhandarkar pointed out that the authorities laid paver blocks around the dome, which may hinder sporting activities, the judges called for their removal. Taking strong objection to the debris dumped by MahaMetro, they issued directions to ensure that the ground is not used as a dumping place.
Directing stakeholders, including the collectorate, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), its heritage committee and MahaMetro to work in tandem, the judges made it clear to them that they want to see results. “We know that development work won’t be completed in a day or two, but it should be expedited. We’re trying to help you out. So don’t hesitate to disclose your problems. Ensure that the ground’s ‘A’ grade heritage status is restored and anything short of that would not be acceptable to us.”
Stressing that the developmental work is being carried out in public interest, they exhorted the stakeholders to do their best work, without disturbing KP’s identity and maintaining its heritage.
Justice Deshpande also enquired about the canons that were found while digging work was under way at the ground and asked whether those can be displayed there itself.
Earlier, architect Ashok Mokha, a member of NMC’s heritage panel, explained the project to the judges, who told him to construct a plaque mentioning the dome’s heritage structure.
Bhandarkar pointed out that the place needs three-layer levelling and with the help of experts, it should be made like Shivaji Park in Mumbai where sporting activities take place. Claiming that Mokha has a conflict of interest, he said the architect is also the contractor for the entire project despite being a member of the heritage committee.
Collector Ravindra Thakare said that he would ensure that the project would be completed soon, including availability of funds from the district planning committee (DPC).
The new municipal commissioner, Radhakrishnan B, informed the judges that the NMC is merely a planning authority and that it would hand over the ground to the collector after the completion of the project as it belongs to the government.
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