On Central Vista Project in Delhi high court Centre files reply.

The Delhi high court on Tuesday said that it will hear tomorrow, a petition seeking to stop construction activity in the Central Vista Project in compliance with orders issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority during the subsistence of the peak phase of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that the Centre has filed a reply to the petition. A Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh noted that reply was not on record and directed to bring the Center’s affidavit on record.
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, who was representing the petitioner, told the court that the issue concerns a specific area where construction is going on unabated.
On Monday, appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra had mentioned the matter to sought an early hearing of the case, which has been listed for May 17 for a detailed hearing.
On May 7, the Supreme Court urged Delhi high court to consider the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by petitioner Anya Malhotra seeking a stay in construction work of the Central Vista project in New Delhi amid the prevailing condition of coronavirus cases across the country and asked high court to issue orders related to the matter.
The plea challenges the ongoing construction activity on the part of the project during the pandemic, arguing that Centre and CPWD’s relentless, unmindful and reckless act of carrying on this project has the potential of being a super spreader.
The petition cited orders issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) during the subsistence of the peak phase of the pandemic.
It alleges the move is also in clear breach and violation of the orders passed by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
The petitioners have argued that at a time when the city of Delhi is grappling with a devastating coronavirus outbreak and when all efforts must be towards controlling the spiralling situation, the government has erroneously said the project constitutes an “essential service” merely because some executive mandated contractual deadline has to be met.