Nagpur: Considering the risk to thousands of devotees who visit the Tekdi Ganesh temple everyday, the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, on Thursday, granted permission to the trust to carry on construction and repairs at the temple which is in highly dilapidated condition.
A division bench comprising — justice Bhushan Gavai and justice Vinay Deshpande — then adjourned the hearing till Diwali vacations. The court’s directives came after Ministry of Defence failed to reply to the court’s poser.
The judges, however, made it clear to the trust to strictly adhere to the terms and conditions as per construction plan approved by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and not to encroach on the defence area.
The directives came while hearing a PIL filed by a devotee Shyam Agrawal praying for immediate renovation and repairing of popular Temple, citing threats to the lives of lakhs of pilgrims visiting the premises.
During last hearing, trust secretary Shriram Kulkarni, through senior counsel Anil Mardikar and Sumit Joshi, had informed that they had earlier sought permission from the defence ministry for temple’s reconstruction on May 13, 2008, but was told to take consent from local military authority in Kamptee. The court then added commanding officer at Kamptee headquarters as a respondent so that necessary directions can be issued at the earliest.