New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stop installation of statues of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and other Dalit leaders in a Noida park, saying it cannot intervene till funds are being misused.
A bench of Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam said it would not intervene in the matter.
"If the statue installation has been approved by the cabinet we cannot do anything. Come to us only if there are allegations of corruption or with appropriation of funds," said the bench, while refusing to entertain a lawsuit by Delhi based advocate Ravi Kant.
The Uttar Pradesh government is building statues of Mayawati, Bahujan Samajwadi Party leader Kanshi Ram and Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar near Sector 15A of Noida, a suburb near New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh’s fastest growing city.
Residents and environmentalists allege the statues violate green laws and are being built on the Yamuna riverbed.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene in the matter will be a relief to Mayawati, who faces criticism from her political rivals for the lavish statues she is building in Lucknow and Noida. There are allegations that around Rs 2,000 crore are being spent on the statues that are coming up all over Uttar Pradesh.
The apex court had on June 29 issued a notice to the UP government for allegedly misusing public money in building statues in Lucknow.
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