HC pained by officials' apathy towards upkeep of Gandhi memorial

Pained by the "apathy" of officials towards the upkeep of Rajghat, a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi, the Delhi High Court today said it was struggling to make the authorities do their duty.

"It is painful to see such apathy on the part of the officials tasked to deal with the issue of maintaining Rajghat, a memorial to the Father of the Nation," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said.

The court also termed as "serious" and unfathomable that the authorities were unable to produce the original drawings and plan of the Rajghat samadhi.

"We are unable to fathom how they are not available," the bench said and directed the secretary, Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) to draw up an inventory of the important buildings in the national capital and ensure the availability of the original drawings and plans of such structures.

The court said necessary directions should be issued by the secretary, MoUD, to ensure that the drawings and plans were collected and preserved on an urgent basis.

It then listed the matter for further hearing on August 6.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) petition, which alleged that 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 Rajghat committee and MoUD, there was no change in the situation.

Along with his petition, Chouksey has submitted photos showing alleged deficiencies he came across during his visit to the monument in 2014 and then again in 2015 and 2016.