Staff Reporter

 

Affidavit to be filed in High Court on Tuesday The contractor has sought time from the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court until Tuesday, January 28, to remove the illegally constructed food plaza in Savarkar Nagar park on Khamla Road. The contractor is expected to submit an affidavit in the High Court on Tuesday with information about the timeline for removal of the food plaza. A hearing on the matter was held before Justice Avinash Gharote and Justice Abhay Mantri on Friday.

 

On Thursday, the High Court directly asked the contractor whether he intended to voluntarily remove the illegally constructed food plaza in the park or if the court would need to issue an order for its removal. In response, the contractor, Muralidhar Chavan, assured the court that he would remove the construction himself. When asked by the High Court how many days he would need to complete the removal, Chavan requested time until Friday to provide a specific timeline. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding illegal construction in the park at Savarkar Nagar is currently pending in the High Court.

 

In a previous hearing, the Court had ordered the contractor to submit the original documents of the contract. Following this, the original documents submitted by Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) were examined on Thursday. It was found that neither NIT nor the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NIT) had approved the construction. Savarkar Nagar park was transferred to the NMC in February, 2020. At that time, the NMC had sought approval from the competent authorities. Upon discovering this, the High Court expressed its displeasure and asked the contractor whether it should order the demolition, or if the contractor would demolish the construction himself. Dr Rajesh Nathuram Swarnakar and six local senior citizens have filed this PIL. The High Court had ordered in the previous hearing that the NMC and NIT submit documents with details of the benefits the park would receive from the construction and commercial activity. Advocate Tushar Mandlekar appeared for the petitioners.