Indian Express 05.06.2010
Ensure no vehicles are parked on Shivaji ground: HC tells BMC
Express News Service Tags : parking at shivajipark case, mumbai Posted: Fri Aug 06 2010, 00:24 hrs
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to ensure that no private vehicles are parked on the Shivaji Park ground.The court was hearing a PIL filed by city-based Wecom trust seeking silence zone status for the park. Another bench of the court had on May 5 this year directed that the park be declared a ‘silence zone’.
MCGM’s lawyer, Geeta Joglekar, said that a proposal was sent to state government, which referred it to the union government. Now the union government has to take a decision, she said. During the hearing today, petitioner’s counsel Virag Tulzhapurkar said that the park is meant to be a playground, and it can be rented out for only for functions on national days such as August 15 and January 26.
The court was told that even for such celebrations there is a limited period of 30 days in a year when the ground can be used for such purposes. He said that in the last one year, the park was rented out by MCGM for various “commercial programmes” for 165 days.
He also submitted that the vehicles are parked on the ground during programmes, and their rut-marks spoil the ground for the next several weeks. Division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice S C Dharmadhikari said that MCGM will prevent parking on the ground and directed them to file a reply.
