Illegal construction in religious cities of UP are politically facilitated: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court recently expressed concern that the development trajectories of most Indian cities, particularly cities with religious significance, are indirectly shaped by the interests of construction lobbies acting in collusion with political authorities [Swami Shiv Swarupananad Ji Maharaj v. State of UP and 3 Others].

Justice Vinod Diwakar flagged the trend being witnessed in North India's religious centers like Mathura, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Vrindavan.

The Court remarked that this collusion has assumed "an especially virulent form" in these cities due to the extraordinary commercial value of land located in proximity to the sacred sites.

"Unauthorized construction in these cities is not simply a product of poverty or ignorance; it is, in significant measure, a product of organized, politically facilitated, economically motivated illegality that has been allowed to accumulate over decades through a combination of institutional complaisance, regulatory capture, and political patronage," the Bench said.

The Court added that India does not lack laws to prevent these illegalities but "strong, selfless, and incorruptible institutional will" among authorities was needed to act against powerful vested interests without fear or favour.

If cities are permitted to be surrendered to a builder–bureaucrat nexus for the construction of high-rise structures in disregard of planning norms, the generations to come will have neither the means to undo it, the Bench said.

"The history of urban development reminds us that a city's landscape, once disfigured, cannot be restored by the generations that follow. Posterity will judge us not by what we built, but by what we permitted to be destroyed," the Court added.

The Court made these observations while dealing with a petition related to an illegal Ashram constructed within flood-affected Vrindavan. During the hearing of the plea, the Court took suo motu note of the rising number of stampedes that have taken place recently in Uttar Pradesh.

It also flagged the lack of adequate development plans for temple cities in UP. On Mathura, the Court said,

"This Court is deeply shocked and profoundly concerned that the development plan for Mathura - one of the most ancient, sacred, and visited pilgrimage cities in the world, receiving millions of devotees annually and carrying an unbroken civilizational and religious heritage of over thousand years - has been prepared for a period of merely ten years."

In the judgment passed on July 22, the Court also called for institutionalising the study of crowd behaviour and crowd management as a recognised and structured academic discipline within the universities, technical institutions and professional training establishments of the State.

The Court said that despite hosting the largest religious congregations, political rallies and mass gatherings known to human civilisation, including the Kumbh Mela, no structured academic curriculum devoted to the scientific study of crowd behaviour exists in any university or institution of higher learning in UP.

It thus recommended establishment of a dedicated Center of Excellence for Crowd Science, Mass Gathering Safety, and Urban Risk Management.

The Court also asked the government to consider the feasibility of constituting a statutory commission for Uttar Pradesh, on the lines of the Delhi Urban Art Commission constituted under the Delhi Urban Art Commission Act, 1973. It said that the Commission can advise the government and the development authorities on the aesthetic and environmental quality of urban design and development.

Advocates Dharmendra Kumar Gupta and Kiran Gupta represented the petitioner.

Advocate Harsh Vardhan Gupta represented the respondents.

[Read Judgment]