Other States - Rajasthan   

Court notice to JDA over transfer of school premises

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court has issued notices to the State Government and the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) over transfer of the historic Darbar School building and its premises here to the State Home Department for construction of quarters for police personnel.

Acting on a public interest petition filed by M. Hasan and three others, the Bench of the Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Narayan Ray, directed the Advocate-General to be present in the Court at the final hearing on May 19.The petition sought a directive from the Court to the Police Department to stop the construction of the police quarters forthwith and maintain the status quo.

Darbar School, located in the densely populated Chokri Topkhana Desh area of the Old City of Jaipur, was closed down finally, after many attempts in the past, in December 2004 amid opposition from the local people, mostly Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Tribes. There were widespread protests in the area after the closure of the school as well as in the wake of the decision to bring in outsiders to the already crowded locality.

Prof. Hasan and his fellow petitioners, who include Mahesh Joshi, former chief whip of the Congress in the Rajasthan Assembly, pleaded through their panel of counsels that the school and the premises, measuring 25,730 sq metres, should be handed back to the JDA so that it could be developed into a park to “infuse a healthy ecological balance and pollution-free environment”. The area has a population of 1.5 lakh spread over city wards 38, 39, 40, 41 and 6, they pointed out.

“There is a strong need for developing a public park in the open space which should provide green lungs for the residents of the area. It is a matter of common knowledge that fresh air helps to combat congestion and pollution,” said the petition which tried to invoke provisions of the Environment Protection Act 1986, besides Articles 14,15, 21, 29, 38, 39 and 48-A of the Constitution and those of the Jaipur Development Act 1982.

The petitioners observed that the Darbar School premises, an armament depot during the time of the former Jaipur State, was in the past used by the local youth as playground and by elders as a place for walks.

There had been two PILs by different persons in the past on the matter of take over of the premises -- which were rejected by the Court. However this time the Court’s intervention has been sought on the specific aspect of transfer of the land to JDA by the State Education Department on December 10, 2004.

“It is quite intriguing that subsequently in the year 2007 the Government took a U-turn and came out with a self-contradictory plea that the land in question is Nazul property belonging to the Estate Department,” the petition noted. After declaring the land as Nazul property it was transferred to the Home Department in September 2007 for building 256 residential quarters.

“The petitioners, individually and jointly, feel highly exercised over the irresponsible attitude of the Government,” it added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Mehta is chief of Knowledge Corporation
Rajasthan discoms take steps for uninterrupted power
Court notice to JDA over transfer of school premises

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu