NGO for demolition of Games Village (The Asian Age) 5 Nov 11

As various Commonwealth Games projects are already under the scrutiny of different probe agencies, a new front was sought to be opened on Tuesday in the Supreme Court with an NGO seeking demolition of the Games Village as it is allegedly built on Yamuna bed in violation of “wetland” norms.

A public interest litigation filed by the NGO, Foundation of Indian Wetland, came up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar with its counsel highlighting the “violations” of wetland norms in the construction of CWG village.
“Wetlands are nature’s bounty. They help maintain the delicate ecological balance and need to be protected for that reason. Flood plains of Yamuna are such wetlands,” the PIL said.

“Wetlands are regulators of water flow. Many a rivers remain a reliable source of water throughout the year because their flow is impeded by swamp lands so that seasonal downpours drain away slowly and water continues to flow during the dry seasons. Wetland also protect many of our sources of drinking water,” the NGO stated.
Claiming that it had opposed all types of constructions on Yamuna bed, the NGO said since the CWG complex has served its purpose, all the buildings constructed there “illegally” should be demolished to restore the flood plains to its original form.

In support of its demand, the NGO cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hinchlal Tiwari case of 2001, in which it had ordered demolition of all structures raised on a wetland in Sant Ravidas Nagar, UP.

However, during the hearing, the CJI reminded its counsel Krishnan Venugopal about another order of the apex court related to the Yamuna bed construction with regard to Akashdham Temple case.

The top court reminded that in that case, the government had placed on record the findings of experts that the construction in the area did not violate any environment norms.
In view of this, the NGO’s counsel sought two weeks’ time to study the order related to the Akshardham case and prepare his case accordingly.