Gauhati High Court seeks government’s response on Kamakhya access corridor

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court instructed the state government to respond to the PIL on ‘Maa Kamakhya Temple Access Corridor,’ which seeks appropriate writ, order, or direction from the court to the respondents not to proceed on construction work without obtaining requisite prior approval and clearances from the Archaeology Department under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.

The two-judge bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Suman Shyam granted two weeks’ time to the state government to file its response. The court posted the next hearing of the petition on April 22.

The notice on behalf of the state government was accepted by senior government advocate D. Nath and assisting advocate general D. Saikia.

The order was issued in response to a PIL filed by Gitika Bhattacharya and 12 others seeking an appropriate writ, order, or direction to the respondent(s) to issue a whitepaper regarding the proposed ‘Maa Kamakhya Temple Access Corridor.’

The proposed route was to be constructed by the state government under the Centre’s ‘PM-DevINE’ and ‘PRASHAD’.

The petitioners also wanted assurance that the construction of the proposed corridor would not cause any damage, demolish, or cause any obstruction or destruction to the ancient structure of the revered ‘shakti’ temple.

The petitioners sought an appropriate writ, order, or direction from the court to the respondents not to proceed with the work of the proposed ‘Maa Kamakhya Temple Access Corridor’ on Nilachal Hill of Guwahati without obtaining approvals and clearances from the department of archaeology under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (as amended in 2010). The approval under the Act was sought keeping in view the protection and preservation of the historically important and ancient monuments, which are more than 2,000 years old.

PM Narendra Modi launched the Rs 498 crore Kamakhya access corridor project in February 2024 and said the ‘Shakti Peeth’ Kamakhya will become a gateway of tourism to the Northeast.

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