Major Setback To Mahatma Gandhi's Great-Grandson: SC Dismisses Plea Against Sabarmati Ashram Redevelopment

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi has received a big setback from the Supreme Court. The apex court on Tuesday dismissed his petition in which he had challenged the redevelopment project of about Rs 1,200 crore of Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. Dismissing the petition, a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal said that it cannot be considered as there was a delay of two years in filing it after the order of the Gujarat High Court.

The court refused to interfere in the government's policy and remarked, "Don't bring your emotions here. We are moving forward, the country is moving forward. There is a way to look at things." The court also said that they considered the matter and found nothing wrong in it. The court also clarified that the Gujarat government has already stated that the five-acre core area of ​​the ashram will remain outside the purview of redevelopment. Thus, the apprehension of the petitioner regarding the core area is not sufficient to consider the petition.

Significantly, Tushar Gandhi had argued in his petition in the Gujarat High Court that the proposed project would change the basic structure of the ashram. He had said that about 200 buildings would either be destroyed or rebuilt in this project, while only more than 40 buildings would be preserved. However, the Gujarat High Court disposed of his petition in 2022 itself, when the government assured that the main area of ​​​​the ashram would remain unaffected. Let us tell you that Sabarmati Ashram, also known as Gandhi Ashram, was established by Mahatma Gandhi in Ahmedabad in 1917 and has been an important center of India's freedom struggle.