Deviations in Rajghat's site plan: HC told

The Delhi High Court was informed today that some alterations might have been done in Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat, giving rise to maintenance issues.
An inspecting panel, comprising the CEO of Agha Khan Foundation and officials of the authorities concerned, told the court that possibly some changes have been brought at the memorial later and that material of inferior quality was used to construct the pathways.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) to give the original site plan of Rajghat to the foundation's CEO Ratish Nanda who would examine it and submit a report after further inspecting the place.

The bench, which listed the matter for April 3, said he would mention in his report about the entire exercise which needed to be undertaken to maintain the pristine glory of the 'samadhi' and other regular steps.
The foundation, which is into restoration of several historical sites of national importance, has also pointed out that the memorial was in a reasonable condition but certain steps needed to be taken for which the original plan of the memorial was required.
During the hearing, Nipun Malhotra, on whose plea the court had earlier ordered a disability audit of government buildings in the national capital, also submitted his report on the disability audit conducted by him at Rajghat.

Regarding the place being disabled-friendly, he said 90 per cent of the area was in good shape and it was one of the best places to visit in Delhi but the bus stand outside it needed to be fixed. He also gave several recommendations which would be examined by the CPWD engineer.

Advocate Satyakam, who was appointed local commissioner and asked by the court to inspect the site, said that drinking water was now available at Rajghat and toilets were also clean.
The high court had earlier said that the memorial was visited by people from across the world and deserved to be respected and maintained properly.

It had even pulled up the Rajghat Samadhi Committee, entrusted with maintaining the memorial, and the CPWD, saying they failed to perform their statutory duties.
It had ordered setting up of a committee including one members from the authorities concerned, Agha Khan Foundation and Nipun Malhotra, and directed them to flag deficiencies.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) which alleged that Mahatma Gandhi's memorial was not being properly maintained.
Petitioner Shyam Narayan Chouksey claimed that the memorial "was not at all being properly and cleanly maintained", and despite being brought to the notice of the committee and the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), there had been no change in the situation.

In the PIL, Chouksey has submitted photos of alleged deficiencies that he had come across during his visit to the monument in 2014 and then again in 2015 and 2016, when he claimed the situation had worsened.
He has alleged there were betel stains at the entrance, broken floor tiles, rubbish lying all around the monument, the white marble has turned black due to lack of cleaning while the green carpet laid for visitors to walk was damaged.
Two toilets were in very poor condition and unclean, and at many places sewage lines are exposed and filled with garbage, becoming "breeding place for mosquitoes and other insects".