HC stays construction of market building in Moodbidri

Moodbidri: The construction of a market by the urban local body near Chowta Palace, a protected monument belonging to the lineage of local kings who had ruled the area in the past has been stayed by the High Court after the court granted interim stay against the construction on Tuesday June 11.

The stay comes after public interest litigation (PIL) had been filed by a local Jason Marshal Norris questioning the initiative undertaken by the municipality.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice A S Oka and Justice H T Narendra Prasad, which took up the litigation, passed interim stay order. The bench opined that conserving protected monuments is one among the priorities of public interest.

Asking the government to get the disputed area surveyed through the Archaeological Survey of India and file a report thereof within four weeks, the bench adjourned the hearing.

The petition

In the PIL, the petitioner has argued that no construction work can be undertaken within 100 metres of a protected monument. Similarly, if construction has to be undertaken within 200 metres of the protected area, prior permission from the Archaeological Department is mandatory, he pointed. He noted that the municipality had begun the work without taking permission from the concerned department and hence he sought an interim stay against continuing with the construction activity.