The govt is unwilling to demolish illegal places of worship
The West Bengal government is reluctant to implement the Supreme Court’s order of demolishing illegal places of worship on pavements for fear of losing votes. On September 29, 2009 the SC issued a directive to all states to take action against illegal structures. But till now the authorities have even failed to produce the list of such places, upsetting the bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and T.S. Thakur.
The state chief secretary has been warned that he will be summoned if the state failed to submit an affidavit within three weeks regarding the action taken by it. With the civic polls just a month away, now it has become extremely difficult for the state to take any action, say legal activists. Some leaders fear that this may even lead to communal tension. A Left Front minister once said that any action against the Shiv Mandir near an airport in Kolkata might destabilise the state government. An influential minister is a regular visitor to this place.
CPM leader and Mayor-in-Council (Roads) of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Tuhin Bera, said: “We do face such problems. The only way out is not to touch temples and mosques.” Admitting that the KMC has no data regarding the number of such places of worship in public places, he said: “We have told authorities not to allow any new places of worship on public land. But, demolition, as ordered by the SC, might lead to social problem.” He suggests all-party consensus on this sensitive issue. State’s PWD Minister Kshiti Goswamy said devotees resist such move, but dialogue can solve the problem. “At Beldanga, our plan to expand a road was resisted. But through dialogue we were able to convince them. They agreed to relocate a mosque and graveyard to other place. We allotted them land.”
But sometimes things get complicated. On December 28, 2009 communal tension flared up after the civic authority demolished two illegally built Kali temples for widening the Jessore Road outside the Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
The VHP jumped in and accused the state government of not demolishing a mosque nearby ‘built illegally’. Justice (Retd.) K M Yusuf, chairman of the State Minority Commission, later pointed out that the centurion mosque was built even before the airport came into existence and was not on public land. Places of worship have mushroomed on pavements and public lands. But, hardly any political party protest. The Sheoraphuli-Tarakeshwar state highway is dotted with illegal temples. It is chock-a-block all the time as thousands of devotees flock the area. And on Saturdays and Tuesdays devotees even jam the footpaths. Can the government act against these illegal structures?
The West Bengal government is reluctant to implement the Supreme Court’s order of demolishing illegal places of worship on pavements for fear of losing votes. On September 29, 2009 the SC issued a directive to all states to take action against illegal structures. But till now the authorities have even failed to produce the list of such places, upsetting the bench of Justice Dalveer Bhandari and T.S. Thakur.
The state chief secretary has been warned that he will be summoned if the state failed to submit an affidavit within three weeks regarding the action taken by it. With the civic polls just a month away, now it has become extremely difficult for the state to take any action, say legal activists. Some leaders fear that this may even lead to communal tension. A Left Front minister once said that any action against the Shiv Mandir near an airport in Kolkata might destabilise the state government. An influential minister is a regular visitor to this place.
CPM leader and Mayor-in-Council (Roads) of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Tuhin Bera, said: “We do face such problems. The only way out is not to touch temples and mosques.” Admitting that the KMC has no data regarding the number of such places of worship in public places, he said: “We have told authorities not to allow any new places of worship on public land. But, demolition, as ordered by the SC, might lead to social problem.” He suggests all-party consensus on this sensitive issue. State’s PWD Minister Kshiti Goswamy said devotees resist such move, but dialogue can solve the problem. “At Beldanga, our plan to expand a road was resisted. But through dialogue we were able to convince them. They agreed to relocate a mosque and graveyard to other place. We allotted them land.”
But sometimes things get complicated. On December 28, 2009 communal tension flared up after the civic authority demolished two illegally built Kali temples for widening the Jessore Road outside the Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
The VHP jumped in and accused the state government of not demolishing a mosque nearby ‘built illegally’. Justice (Retd.) K M Yusuf, chairman of the State Minority Commission, later pointed out that the centurion mosque was built even before the airport came into existence and was not on public land. Places of worship have mushroomed on pavements and public lands. But, hardly any political party protest. The Sheoraphuli-Tarakeshwar state highway is dotted with illegal temples. It is chock-a-block all the time as thousands of devotees flock the area. And on Saturdays and Tuesdays devotees even jam the footpaths. Can the government act against these illegal structures?
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