Allahabad HC: Remove religious structures on roads

The Allahabad high court has directed the Akhilesh government in Uttar Pradesh to remove or shift religious structures in any form which are encroaching on public roads including sideways. The court further directed that no religious structure shall be allowed or permitted to be raised on public roads including highways, streets, pathways and lanes and warned that any violation will be considered as criminal contempt by administration and police officials.

The court order is bound to create problems for the state government since building religious structures on unoccupied land has become a way of life in Uttar Pradesh and is often used as a means to encroach upon land.

These religious structure — mazaars and temples — cause communal strife if any attempt is made to remove them. Two years ago, a flyover in Gomti Nagar had to be extended overhead since a mazaar came in the way.

A Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court, comprising Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Rakesh Srivastava said that religious structures raised after January 2011 that encroach upon public roads will have to be removed forthwith and a compliance report shall be submitted by concerned district magistrate to the state government within two months.

Those raised earlier should be shifted to private land or removed within six months. The court, while disposing off a petition in this regard, observed that every citizen had a fundamental right of movement and this could not be allowed to be infri-nged by a few violators in public and the apathy of state government.

The court said that religious activities should not create hindrance in the smooth flow of traffic and movement of public on roads and should be performed strictly at the places identified for the same or belonging to concerned religious sections or at any private place.

The state government has been asked to issue a general direction in this regard to all district magistrates and police chiefs and other officials responsible for maintenance of roads.

Interestingly, none of the political parties were willing to comment on the court order but a senior Samajwadi leader said that executing the order at a time when elections are round the corner would invoke communal passions and give a chance to communal forces to cash in on the issue. “We will study the order and then see what options are available to us”, the minister said.

The Congress and the BJP refused to comment on it saying that they had not read the judgement yet.