HC halts work on Gandhi Setu

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has directed the state government to stop the ongoing construction on a section of the Gandhi Setu due to environmental concerns.

The Bench comprising Justices Pradeep Kant and Abdul Mateen also directed the government to seek an environment clearance report from Nagpur-based National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and submit it before the court on October 30,the next date of hearing.

Till then,the court has stayed the construction on the right side of the bridge where,reportedly,a parking lot is being set up.

The PIL filed by Gomti Nagar Jan Kalyan Samiti alleged that the government was dumping garbage on the floodplain area of the river to level up a portion of the land for converting into a parking lot.

According to the PIL,the construction work was causing pollution in the Gomti.

Experts from NEERI,who had earlier visited the site,had suggested that any such activity should be stopped for the conservation of the river,said petitioners Counsel B K Singh.

He also submitted that while NEERI team had suggested the government to construct a sewage treatment plant on the site,the latter was going ahead with the plan to construct a parking lot and a park there.

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The Bench also asked Vice-Chairman of Lucknow Development Authority Mukesh Kumar Meshram to be present in the court during the next hearing.

The Bench also sought reasons from the government for ignoring the recommendations of the NEERI.

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