Ambedkar Smarak room, Buddha Vihar not mere physical spaces but has deep emotional values: Bombay High Court

Constructing Ambedkar Smarak room and Buddha Vihar is not simply a matter of erecting physical structures but it has deep emotional and religious sentiments attached to it, the Bombay High Court recently observed [Sheetalsagar Builders & Developers Pvt. Ltd vs The Chief Engineer-II Authority & Ors]..A Bench of Justices GS Patel and MJ Jadhav, therefore, passed an order paving the way for completing the projects in Dadar, Mumbai after the civic authorities' had passed an order restricting the petitioners from constructing the structure. "This is not simply a matter of putting up some construction or the other. There are very strong and undeniable religious and emotional sentiments involved. The Vihar and Smarak Room are, therefore, more than just a physical space," the Court stated.The petitioner, Sheetalsagar Builders & Developers, were stopped by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) from continuing with the construction of the Vihar and Smarak room. The structure was being built for the Nalanda Buddha Vihar Sangh. During the hearing of the petition challenging the MHADA order, a dispute arose regarding the location where the structures were to be constructed.In light of the dispute, an alternate location was provided to the developer and construction on the alternate location begun after obtaining necessary no objections certificates (NOCs) from the authorities concerned.However, subsequently another issue arose - that the new location was seemed to be above a sewage treatment plant and a water tank.The petitioner-developer, however, made a statement on affidavit that the project was not located above sewage plant and the water tank located below a portion of the structures would be able to withstand the pressure..The Court recording these submissions as solemn undertakings, emphasising that there was no possibility for the developer to deviate from or seek relaxation of the terms and conditions mentioned in the permissions it had received.The Court further added that the construction and the existence of such Vihar and Smarak Room are of religious sentimental and emotional value to the members of the Nalanda Buddha Vihar Sangh."This is to be, quite literally, a shrine; the space is sacred. These are not concerns that can be brushed aside or treated like an ordinary rehab construction," the Court said..The court noticed that the Buddha Vihar is not located on a sewer line or a water tank, according to an affidavit signed by Dinesh Mahajan on January 22, 2022. It also noted that the Buddha Vihar's East wall rests on a 300 mm thick water tank wall, but that it would not amount to breach of any building permits.It emphasized that the developer had submitted an affidavit stating that it had approached all relevant authorities for NOCs for the proposed relocation and reconstruction. As a result, the court saw no reason to order the developer to move the construction to some other site.“In that regard, we believe that there is considerable substance to the submission by Mr Dhakephalkar for the Petitioners that such a reconfiguration is simply impossible and will jeopardize the entire project, which is in one of Mumbai’s most densely congested localities, Dadar,” the bench said..[Read Order]