The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the state government why construction at the India Gate roundabout was being conducted in secrecy, The Indian Express reported. The court asked the Aam Aadmi Party government what is being built behind the structure’s walls.
“As citizens, we have a right to know about it,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said. “We also want to rejoice in it.” The bench added that every construction site displays a picture of what is being built.
In response, the Delhi government’s Additional Standing Counsel Satyakam said that it was not the state but the Ministry of Defence that was building a war memorial at India Gate. The bench then asked whether the AAP government has no right to know what is being built.
The court also asked the government why the work was being carried out secretly, since CCTV cameras in the area are not functioning.
The Delhi High Court had initiated a public interest litigation based on a letter from an All India Institute of Medical Sciences physiotherapist. The complainant alleged that on June 28, a man came speeding at him in his car, assaulted him and then sped away. When the physiotherapist approached the police, he was told the accused’s vehicle could not be traced as there were no CCTVs.
On Tuesday, the High Court called the incident “unfortunate”, and said that road rage incidents would reduce drastically if CCTV cameras were installed.
Satyakam told the court that there are around 4,800 CCTVs in the area. He said that he had asked district authorities about the number of functional cameras. The court will hear the matter next on October 20.
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