Gujarat HC rejects Tushar Gandhi’s plea against Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court on Thursday rejected a petition filed by Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi who challenged the ₹1,300 crore development plan for the historic Sabarmati Ashram and its precinct in Ahmedabad by the Gujarat government.

“The proposed project will not only uphold the ideas and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi which would be for the benefit of society and mankind at large but the said Gandhi Ashram will be a place for learning for mankind of all age groups,” a bench of chief justice Aravind Kumar and justice A J Shastri said.

This is the second time the high court is rejecting Tushar Gandhi’s petition against the Gujarat government’s Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project; the first was in November last. But the Supreme Court, on an appeal by the social activist, on April 2 this year asked the high court to hear the case afresh, noting that the high court hadn’t sought a comprehensive response from the state government but only gone by the assurance by the state’s top law officer that the Ashram and its ambience will not be disturbed.

In its ruling, the division bench said the fears expressed by Tushar Gandhi stand allayed following an affidavit filed by the state government which assured that the existing Gandhi Ashram, located in an area of five acres, will not be disturbed, altered or changed.

In its affidavit, the Gujarat government also rebutted Tushar Gandhi who alleged that the five trusts that manage and own the various properties and tracts of land in the Gandhi Ashram have opposed the rejig plan.

The Gujarat government, in its affidavit, submitted that the five trusts - Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT), Khadi Gramodyog Samiti Trust, Sabarmati Harijan Ashram Trust (SHAT), Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala Trust and Harijan Sevak Sangh are on board and have approved the redevelopment project.

Gujarat advocate general Kamal Trivedi later reiterated the state’s stance to allay the petitioner’s apprehensions.

“The state government will take co-operation of all stakeholders for this project. It will preserve the Gandhian ethos and principles. All fears canvassed by the petitioner have been addressed. The five-acre existing Ashram will remain intact. The project is being carried out by the state government in the right earnest and not in any arbitrary manner. The governing council formed for the redevelopment has representation from all the trusts,” Trivedi told HT.

The Sabarmati Ashram, named after the river on which it sits, was home to Gandhi from 1917 until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle.

The redevelopment project involves restoring all heritage buildings built during the Mahatma’s time in 1917, relocating families that live there and bringing to life Gandhiji’s work, life, philosophy and messages by converting the place into a world-class memorial that will give a truly educational and immersive experience to visitors, he said.

The Sabarmati Ashram project is being designed by HCP Design, Planning and Management Private Limited, the agency that has also designed the Central Vista Redevelopment project. It envisages restoring the ambience of the Ashram, as it existed a century back during Mahatma Gandhi’s time.

The state government has underlined that it will not touch the three key attractions situated in the core one-acre area and that the redevelopment will take place only in the 55 acre-area surrounding the main Ashram.