RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh High Court has allowed the Raipur Smart City Limited and Bilaspur Smart City Limited to go ahead with certain projects while hearing a petition alleging that these special purpose vehicles (SPVs) have encroached into the territory of urban local bodies(ULBs).
Disposing of interim applications filed by the Smart City companies, a division bench of Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and Justice Gautam Chourdiya said in their order passed on Monday that the contention of the petitioner that the SPVs have encroached into the territory of Urban Local Bodies have to be considered in a full-scale hearing.
The order said that refusing the grant of permission for implementation of projects would not be in the public interest as the projects are ready for implementation by way of issuing work orders and as almost six years have gone by since the incorporation of Bilaspur smart city limited and Raipur smart city limited. Besides, the smart cities mission itself is coming to an end in about a year and three months, the order noted.
Public interest litigation was filed in December 2020, alleging that in the garb of SPV, the State Government had actually usurped the powers and functions of the elected bodies of Bilaspur Nagar Nigam and Raipur Nagar Nigam as during the period from 2016 to 2020, several development works have been carried out by Bilaspur and Raipur SPV without any monitoring and supervision of the elected bodies of Bilaspur and Raipur. The petition said at no stage of planning, approval, execution or payment, the file of any tender issued by the SPV is brought before the Mayor / Mayor-In-Council / Samanya Sabha despite the work being done in the notified areas of the Nagar Nigam.
The Smart Cities approached the high court again with interim applications after HC passed an order in September last year that in case the smart cities formulate future projects, it should be brought to the notice of the court before implementation. However, the order had then stated that the court is not inclined to pass any interim order in the ongoing projects. Later, these smart cities approached the court to seek permission to go ahead with the projects.
Raipur and Bilaspur smart cities were represented by senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi and assisted by counsel Sumesh Bajaj, Rishabh Bajaj and Misha Rohatgi Mohta. Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi submitted that the ministry of housing and urban affairs has impressed upon CEOs of these SPVs to see to it that all work orders are issued before March 2022 and that when extension of Smart Cities Mission was granted, a written commitment was given by the Smart Cities Mission that no project funded by Smart Cities Mission funds (Center/State), will be left to be work ordered post-March 2022. He also submitted that there is every possibility of funds being lapsed if the work orders are not issued, as indicated.
Bajaj drew the attention of court a letter issued by the Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs to the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh stating that beyond March 31 this year, no fund will be released by the Centre in respect of projects in which work orders have not been issued. State deputy advocate general H.S. Ahluwalia and Assistant Solicitor General endorsed it and submitted that the projects for which permission is sought should be allowed to be continued for the benefit of the local public.
