HC extends stay on demolition of 55-yr-old public library

The Delhi High Court today extended till February 21 next year its order restraining civic agency NDMC from demolishing a 55-year-old branch of Delhi Public Library (DPL).
A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal had on November 15 stopped North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) from taking any further step, saying that the library at Karol Bagh in central Delhi "shall be kept closed and nobody shall be permitted to enter the premises till further order".
"The interim order passed by this court on November 15, 2016 will continue till February 21, 2017," it said.
The court, meanwhile, asked the authorities concerned to file their reply to the petition filed by some scholars and journalists, who have moved against the corporation's two notices to DPL to vacate the premises claiming that the building was structurally unfit and dangerous.

The library was issued the first notice on September 15 and the next on November 4, asking the library to vacate so that the building could be demolished.
Seeking quashing of the notices, the petitioners have alleged that the owner of the premises, Dimple Enterprises, "wants a commercial complex to come up in place of this library in order to make money from this land".

"NDMC has been manipulated by using corrupt practices to declare the premises as dangerous now, while in 2011, the same MCD had certified the building as safe provided minor maintenance is continued. Still the library building is being demolished due to pressure and corrupt tactics by the owners," the plea has said.

Stating that there was "no likelihood of immediate danger to passersby or others while entering the premises," the petitioners have sought appointment of a court commissioner "to inspect, evaluate and analyse the current status and condition of the library ".
They have also sought a direction to "initiate enquiry against the officials concerned of NDMC and the chairman/ defaulting officials concerned of Delhi Library Board or DPL".
Funded by the Ministry of Culture, the board is an autonomous body and it has around 45 branches and mobile libraries across Delhi.
It consists of officers from both the central and Delhi governments, intellectuals, members of the Legislative Assembly and councillors.