Wall being demolished is not integral part of Rock Garden: Chandigarh admn to HC

Amid the growing public outcry over the demolition of a wall at the iconic Rock Garden for a road widening and parking project, the Chandigarh administration on Friday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that the wall was not an integral part of the historical site.

The counsels for Chandigarh administration told the high court bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sumeet Goel that the wall was built by Nek Chand, the creator of Rock Garden.

However, it is being relocated to accommodate the widened road and space for parking of more vehicles. A new structure, replicating the original design, will be built to maintain Rock Garden’s aesthetic integrity. The move is aimed at balancing improved traffic management with the preservation of Rock Garden’s cultural and historical significance, the court was informed.

The information was given during resumed hearing of a 2023 public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Vinod Dhaterwal, an office-bearer of the high court employees’ association, demanding infrastructure development of the HC complex in the wake of increasing traffic congestion, space crunch and implementation of a holistic development plan.

The plan, conceptualised more than a decade back, envisages setting up of multi-storey buildings to cater to the requirement of additional space at the high court complex. However, the plan had to be put on hold as the Capitol Complex was declared a World Heritage site in 2016. It was during these proceedings that the idea of demolishing the Rock Garden wall had come up as part of decongestion plan in the vicinity of the high court.

The court was also hearing plea from two residents of the city—75-year-old Tarlochan Singh, an engineer from BITS, Pilani and Pallav Mukherjee, a Sector-11 resident and architect—seeking impleadment in the case.

They had approached the Supreme Court against the order whereby the high court had okayed UT’s proposal to demolish the wall in question and also ordered laying of paver blocks in green belt area for parking. However, the apex court on February 19, while dealing with their plea, had asked them to raise these issues before the high court.

As per UT, the wall was originally built to enclose the adjacent forested land and was not part of the garden designed by Nek Chand. Hence, it is not integral to Rock Garden itself. It is being relocated and roads are being realigned so as to reduce congestion in the area. However, as UT started demolishing the wall, on February 23, a section of residents resorted to protests alleging that city’s heritage is being “destroyed”. Since then, it has snowballed into a major controversy with sharp divides being seen at both ends.

Notably, there is an extreme shortage of parking space at high court amid the rise in lawyers and litigants over the years. On any given hour, about 3,000-4,000 four-wheelers visit the HC complex, out of which at least 2,000, if not more, are permanently parked.

The existing underground multi-level parking which has three tiers can accommodate only 600 four-wheelers while the remaining vehicles are parked in the open parking areas. The court has 10,000 lawyers coming in daily, besides, hundreds of employees and litigants from two states and Chandigarh, translating into severe chaos.

Sukhna Catchment area demarcation okayed by court

Meanwhile, the administration, to a query of the high court whether execution of holistic development plan of high court can have adverse impact on the Sukhna Lake catchment area, has said delineation of the catchment area was done in 2004 by the Survey of India and report presented to high court.

While dealing with a suo motu petition in 2020, the high court had banned construction in the catchment area, which as per the order was the same as delineated by the Survey of India report. However, the said judgment was in review before the high court.

As per UT, the main high court building, which is part of Capitol Complex was completed in the year 1955 and Sukhna Lake was constructed in 1958. However, catchment area as demarcated by Survey of India in 2004 was ordered to be kept as such by the high court. It says if holistic development plan is executed, it would amount to contempt of court, it added.