HC to MCD: Parks next to Jama Masjid should remain open to public

New Delhi: Delhi High Court has asked Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to ensure that parks abutting Jama Masjid remain accessible to the public at large.
Disposing of a PIL seeking proper maintenance and public access to the two parks, a bench of acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora held MCD bound by its assurances.
MCD told the court that the north and south parks are open to the public and their gates abutting the mosque will be kept open daily.The counsel for MCD also gave an undertaking before high court that all the parks abutting Jama Masjid shall be properly maintained by the civic agency.
“The statements/assurances/undertaking given by MCD are accepted by this court and MCD is held bound by the same,” HC noted in an order dated April 10.
The court also took note of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s (DUSIB) submission that one of the parks will continue to operate a ‘rain basera’ for the homeless since it cannot be removed. The DUSIB counsel informed HC that the Supreme Court has forbidden it from closing any shelter for the homeless.
Earlier, HC had underlined that open spaces and green cover provide much-needed breathing zones for people who are struggling with rising pollution and directed MCD to take possession of the two public parks next to Jama Masjid in Old Delhi. It had described a move to lock the gates of the parks as “totally unacceptable” and asked the civic body to make them available for use by the public.
“The importance of maintenance of green cover in the present milieu needs no emphasis. The open spaces and green cover provide the much-needed breathing zones for people when the society as a whole is grappling with the hazardous scenario of ever-increasing pollution. The parks are like an oasis in the concrete jungle that exists in cities,” it had noted.
The court had pointed out that “the public at large, including the young and the old, need green spaces for playing, walking, exercising. Denial of this right would be infringement of Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India”.
MCD had claimed the two public parks were in “illegal” possession of the mosque authorities that had locked the gates. HC was hearing a plea by one Mohd Arslan on alleged unauthorised encroachments and lack of access to public parks around Jama Masjid.