CHENNAI: A day after the Supreme Court sought to know the Centre’s stand on Ram Sethu, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today asked the union government to declare it a national monument without further delay.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, she said her government would also separately file a counter to express its stand in this regard before the Apex Court, where the issue has been posted for further hearing on March 29.
“In view of the strong objection raised to the earlier alignment due to its archaeological, historical and cultural importance, I request you to take necessary action to communicate the views of the Government of India to the Supreme Court that it would take immediate steps for declaring the site as a National Monument without any further delay.”
She noted that the Apex Court has directed the Additional Solicitor General to obtain the remarks of the Centre before Thursday on declaring the site as a national monument.
Jayalalithaa said petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court regarding the Sethu Samudram Channel Project.
“Based on the strong opposition to the earlier Alignment 6 cutting across the ancient structure, popularly known as Ram Sethu due to its immeasurable historical, archaeological and heritage value, a number of writ petitions were filed in the Madras High Court and in the Supreme Court,” she said.
Jayalalithaa recalled filing a petition in 2007 praying for direction to Tuticorin Port Trust and Ministry of Culture, to declare Adam?s Bridge/Ram Sethu as a national monument.
It had also sought to take it over, preserve and maintain the same and forebear Ministry of Shipping/Surface Transport and Sethu Samudram Corporation Limited from in any manner destroying/damaging the site in the process of execution of Sethu Samudram Project.
Jayalalithaa said she would be sending her government’s views on the R K Pachauri Expert Committee which was appointed by the Centre in 2008 on the directions of the Apex Court.The Prime Minister-appointed panel, headed by Pachauri, had examined the feasibility of executing the controversial Sethusamudram project through Dhanuskodi instead of routing it through Rama Sethu. – The New Indian Express, Chennai, March 29, 2012
Court to Govt: Clear stand on Ram Sethu as national monument
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday dusted out the controversy over shipping channel through Sethusamudram having mythological significance by asking the Centre to specify within two days its stand on grant of national monument status to it.
A bunch of petitions, including by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy and Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa, had questioned the Sethusamudram shipping channel alignment on the ground that it was breaching the mythological bridge, mentioned in epic Ramayana.
While Swamy had sought declaration of the present day remnants resembling the mythological bridge as a national monuments other petitioners had sought realignment of the project to save Sethusamudram from dredging for the channel to open a short shipping route via the Palk Strait.
After the PM appointed a committee headed by environmentalist R K Pachauri to examine the feasibility of the project, the apex court had adjourned hearing on the high-voltage issue, which was made politically controversial but some impertinent remarks in the Centre’s affidavit in 2007 about Ramayana and Lord Rama. Later, the Centre had withdrawn the affidavit.
On Tuesday, a bench of Justices H L Dattu and A R Dave asked additional solicitor general Harin Raval to take instructions from the government and report back by Thursday on its stand relating to Swamy’s plea for declaration of Sethusamudram as a national monument. “If you say you don’t want to file counter affidavit, we can go ahead with the arguments in the case,” it said.
It also asked the government to place on record within six weeks the Pachauri committee report. The report was to be submitted to the court by February, 2011, but the deadline had been extended from time to time by the SC.
After whipping up a controversy by doubting the existence of Lord Rama and Ramayana, the Centre on February 29, 2008, had filed another affidavit steering clear of the controversy and seeking SC’s permission to resume dredging of the Sethu, saying religion and faith could not dictate its policy decisions.
Sethusamudram aka Adam’s Bridge had been dredged during the two-year unhindered progress of work before the apex court stayed it, the Centre had said.
Giving details of progress of work, it had said of the total 34.45 million cubic metres (mcum) to be dredged from Palk Bay/Palk Strait, 16.9 mcum had already been taken out. On Adam’s Bridge, 9.51 mcum of a total of 48.05 mcum had been dredged, it had said. – Times of India, Mumbai, March 28, 2012
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