Author: Supriya Jena

The Bombay High Court has rejected a challenge from a Dubai-based company, Seclink Technologies Corp, against the Maharashtra government’s decision to give the big Dharavi redevelopment project to the Adani Group. This project, which aims to improve one of Mumbai’s most crowded areas, is known as Asia’s largest urban renewal effort.

The court’s judges, Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar, explained that their role isn’t to second-guess the decisions made by the authorities about who should get the project. They stated that the government, which issued the bids, knows what it needs best, so the court should interfere only a little bit.

Seclink Technologies argued that their original bid was higher than the one made by the Adani Group. They claimed they deserved the contract because they were the “rightful highest bidder” from a tender process that began in 2018. However, in November 2022, Adani Properties, part of the Adani Group led by Gautam Adani, won the bidding.

In this partnership, Adani Group has 80% ownership in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd, while the Maharashtra government holds the remaining 20%. Most of the redevelopment will happen on 296 acres, excluding areas like parks and fishing villages.

Dharavi has over 850,000 residents, and with the temporary population included, that number goes over 1 million. It has an extremely high density of people, making it the most crowded zone in Mumbai, which is itself the sixth most crowded city in the world.

Seclink also accused the government of making the new tender in October 2022 in a way that purposely kept them out. However, the state’s lawyer, Milind Sathe, explained that things changed because railway land was added to the project, which adjusted the business plan enough to cancel the previous tender.

Sathe pointed out that Seclink was just one out of eight groups that bid before. He noted that Seclink cannot challenge the tender alone without the other members of its group joining in. If they had concerns about the new bid conditions, they should have raised them earlier. Thus, the High Court dismissed their petition.

The project is located close to the Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai’s main financial area, which houses important banks, stock exchanges, and corporate offices.

A team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) visited a newly discovered temple, five sacred sites, and 19 wells in Sambhal on Saturday. The survey began in the morning and wrapped up at 3:30 PM.

Sambhal’s District Magistrate, Rajender Pensiya, shared details about the survey. They looked at five important pilgrimage sites, including Bhadrak Ashram and Swargdeep, as well as 19 wells, such as Chaturmukh Koop and Moksha Koop. They also examined a recently revealed temple named Shri Kartik Mahadev.

Last week, three broken idols were found in the Bhasma Shankar temple well, which was reopened for the first time in 46 years. The temple held a statue of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling and had been closed since 1978. Pensiya mentioned that digging around the temple revealed broken idols of Parvati, Ganesh, and Lakshmi. The officials are currently investigating how these statues ended up in the well.

This temple is near Khaggu Sarai and not far from the Shahi Jama Masjid, a location that witnessed violence during a protest on November 24, leading to four deaths and several injuries.

In an important update, the district administration asked ASI to conduct carbon dating to find out how old the temple and well are. Carbon dating helps determine the age of ancient artifacts.

Additionally, the Supreme Court provided new rules, temporarily stopping fresh lawsuits regarding religious places to maintain peace. A special bench explained that courts must not make any important decisions until further notice.

The Shri Kashi Vidwat Parishad (SKVP) in Varanasi has confirmed that a temple discovered in Madanpura, called the Siddheshwar Mahadev temple, is in fact dedicated to Lord Shiva. This conclusion comes from the early research they began on the site. However, they plan to do more investigations to understand its history better.

The SKVP is going to carry out a detailed survey which includes looking at old maps and scriptures. They’re also interested in a nearby water body named Siddhkali, which is mentioned in Hindu texts, but seems to be missing from the current site. Ram Narain Dwivedi, the general secretary of SKVP, pointed out that the water body might be hidden under newer structures, as many temples were covered by houses over the years.

The team is checking the oldest maps to find where the water body and other temples used to be. They want to gather enough evidence in case legal issues arise. Dwivedi stressed that every step will respect the scriptures and the history of the area.

The SKVP plans to work with the local government to collect necessary details for their survey. They want to ensure that everything they do aligns with historical texts. As they continue their work, the SKVP also aims to restore other Shiva temples in the area. If they find that some temples are within private homes, they will look for ways to acquire those properties to restore them.

Dwivedi mentioned that local religious leaders, including the Akhara Parishad and Mahamandaleshwars, have shown interest in looking after the Siddheshwar Mahadev temple and other abandoned temples to ensure they are honored and maintained. These leaders want to help preserve these important sites.

The ongoing study and plans for restoration reflect SKVP’s dedication to keeping Varanasi’s rich religious heritage alive while carefully handling any legal or social challenges.