Delhi High Court pulls up Centre for poor maintenance of Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial
A petition had pointed out the lack of cleanliness at Rajghat and had alleged that there were betel stains and garbage around the memorial.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday showed displeasure at the “pathetic state of affairs” in the way Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial Rajghat was being maintained, The Hindu reported. Tuesday marked the 70th death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The court was hearing a petition that alleged that the memorial was not being maintained well. In earlier hearings, the court has said that having a donation box at Rajghat was “disrespectful” to Gandhi, and also ordered an inspection by the Central Public Works Department.
On Tuesday, the bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said that hardly anything was being done to maintain the place where all international leaders and tourists go.
“Is this the condition of Rajghat?” the court asked after seeing some pictures of the memorial. “There is no single person who comes to India and does not go to Rajghat in Delhi and Taj Mahal in Agra. Every international leader goes there.”
The court appointed a local commissioner to visit Rajghat and file a report.
The petitioner has claimed that the memorial “was not at all being properly and cleanly maintained”, and there was no change in the situation despite the issue being brought to the notice of the Rajghat Samadhi Committee and the Ministry of Urban Development.
There are betel stains at the entrance, broken floor tiles and garbage all around the memorial, the petitioner said. The white marble has turned black because of poor cleaning, it said, also pointing out the poor condition of toilets.