Assam: Gauhati High Court Asks Petitioners to give Fresh Representation to Administration

PIL against construction of school building

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: A division bench of the Gauhati High Court comprising Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Kaushik Goswami has disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition challenging the construction of premises of Hilapakuri Higher Secondary School in Barpeta district.

The court directed the petitioners to submit a fresh representation to the District Commissioner, Barpeta, within 10 days, raising their grievances against the construction of the school building. The District Commissioner will then consider the representation, invite views from the Education Department, and make a decision in accordance with the law within four weeks, the bench said.

The petitioners claimed that the land being used for construction was a playground for over 50 years.

According to the petitioners, an alternative land was available for construction, but the authorities were determined to build on the playground. However, during the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners failed to provide evidence that the land was officially earmarked as a playground in government records.

The court observed that while the authorities had the right to develop infrastructure on government land, the concerns of local residents who had been using the land as a playground for social activities also needed to be considered.

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