Ensure litter-free Rose Festival, HC asks civic body

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 16

Just about a year after the Punjab and Haryana High Court took cognisance of Rose Festival turning into a thorny affair with the setting up of stalls and littering, a Division Bench has directed the Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner to ensure the constitution of a committee to maintain cleanliness at the event.

The directions came on a petition filed by RD Anand against the MC and other respondents. 

After hearing the counsel for the parties, the Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal asked the Mayor and the Commissioner to constitute a committee to oversee the functioning of the Rose Festival and particularly ensure that littering was avoided during the festival. The bench added that the committee would also ensure no harm was caused to plants at Rose Garden.

Aggrieved by “hijacking” of Rose Festival for making it a “mela”, Prof Anand had earlier minced no words to say that the UT Administration, the Municipal Corporation and another respondent had since last year “insensitively” permitted eatables, ice-creams and other stalls on Rose Garden premises, making it a “huge flea market”. 

In his PIL, Anand, through counsel Puneet Sharma, had prayed for directions to the respondents against organising fairs and to preserve the “purity of the purpose behind its creation”. He added that huge areas were covered under tents and kiosks during Rose Festival.