The Supreme Court today agreed to hear an appeal challenging Delhi High Court decision dismissing DTC's plea for grant of six months to approach DDA to change the land use of the Millennium Bus Depot site on the banks of Yamuna here.
"List it for hearing tomorrow," a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice R Banumathi said when senior advocate Harish Salve mentioned the matter for urgent hearing.
The High Court, on October 20 last year, had shot down the plea of Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) on the issue saying it was an abuse of court process to seek extension of time after undertaking to shift it.
It also said that the high court had in 2012 given six months to either shift the depot or change land use of site and there was "no justifiable reason" now for further extension.
The court had observed in its six-page order that as Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has stated it was not possible to change Delhi's Master Plan with regard to the site, steps taken for changing land use have "failed".
The high court had in 2012 given DTC six months to relocate its depot or get the Master Plan 2021 amended to enable it to continue functioning from its current location on the banks of river Yamuna.
The order had come on the petition of two environmental activists, Anand Arya and Manoj Misra.
On expiry of six months, a contempt plea was filed by the petitioners against DTC for not relocating its Millennium Bus Depot, built at a cost of Rs 60 crore for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
DTC had undertaken that it would shift the depot by October 31, 2014, to another site provided by DDA. The deadline for relocation was later extended to August 20 by the court.
The 50-acre millennium depot was built on the river bank initially as a temporary depot during the 2010 games, with a parking space for around 1,000 buses along with various facilities including five workshop-cum-scanning centres, a logistic centre and two CNG-filling stations.
