Workers at Central Vista undertaking reside at work web site, comply with COVID-19 protocols, Centre tells Delhi HC

The Centre on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that 400 staff for redevelopment of the Central Vista Avenue had been engaged “well before” the imposition of curfew in Delhi and the employees are staying on the web site in accordance with the official pointers relating to COVID-19 .
The court docket Tuesday mentioned it is going to hear the petition, searching for a keep on Central Vista’s development in wake of the rising variety of COVID-19 instances in Delhi, on Wednesday
“A COVID compliant facility was installed at the worksite itself, to accommodate the 250 workers who had expressed their willingness to stay put and continue the aforesaid work. The facility provides for strict implementation of COVID appropriate behaviour,” mentioned the federal government.

It additionally informed the court docket that the contractor has supplied for medical health insurance of all the employees involved in opposition to COVID-19 and a separate facility for conducting RT-PCR take a look at, isolation and medical help has additionally been supplied at web site.
“It is submitted that as per para 8 of DDMA order dated 19.04.2021, construction activities during curfew are permitted where labourers are residing on-site,” the federal government additional mentioned.
The authorities additionally refuted the declare that any staff are introduced from Sarai Kale Khan camp to the working web site each day. The work on the Central Vista Avenue is to be accomplished by November 2021, it mentioned. “It is unequivocally stated that the workers working on the project as of now, are residing at the work site, following social distancing norms as well as other COVID-19 protocols,” mentioned the Centre additional.
The petition filed by Anya Malhotra, a translator, and Sohail Hashmi, a historian and documentary filmmaker, states that they’re involved by the “super spreading potential and threat” posed by the persevering with development on the undertaking and the plight of the employees who’re being uncovered to the an infection each day.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, showing for the petitioners, final week submitted earlier than the division bench of Chief Justice D.N Patel and Justice Jasmeet Singh that they’re in no method searching for to overreach the judgement of Supreme Court and the prayer is restricted to searching for an interim keep on the development through the peak section of pandemic.
“The petitioners are also questioning why or how the project constitutes an ‘essential service’ merely because some executive mandated contractual deadline has to be met,” it’s contended within the petition. “In the current dismal scenario, this project has no feature of ‘essentiality’ for and/or of ‘service’ to the public at large.”
The authorities on Tuesday mentioned the petitioner is a “sheer abuse of the process of law” and is “one more attempt to stall the project”. “Such attempts are going on since the inception of the project under one pretext or the other and in one name or the other,” it mentioned, whereas searching for dismissal of the petition with exemplary prices.