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Jaffna court issues interim order against construction of Jaffna stadium
View(s):Jaffna High Court this week issued an interim order against the construction of a proposed indoor stadium within the premises of the protected Jaffna Old Park complex overriding the earlier decision issued by the District Court to allow construction.
The court held that the order will be in effect till the final determination of the application.
When the court asked whether the Attorney General can give an undertaking that there won’t be any construction done until the interim injunction matter is decided, state counsels sought further time to decide on the matter.
Last December, the Jaffna Magistrate issued an interim order against the government’s initiative to build a Rs 170 million funded indoor stadium at the old park complex, a British colonial site.
Later the court lifted the order, enabling the authorities to commence construction within the premises.
Objecting to the lower court decision, a revision application was filed on behalf of petitioners against the decision.
The 5-acre property is registered as a charitable trust property since it was donated as a gift by the first British colonial Government Agent, Sir Percival Ackland Dyke, in 1853. The indoor stadium project was proposed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports with the objective of promoting indoor sports and improving access to modern sporting facilities in the region.
Earlier, the lower court was also told that a 10-member trust committee that consists of current District Secretary M Piratheepan decided, following a meeting on May 20, not to grant approval for any development work at the site, since several government institutions were constructed in the past, but no revenue is collected from those bodies.
The trust committee also rejected a proposal to construct an open-air theatre and a swimming pool, the court was told. Instead, it was proposed that since the property came under the purview of the Department of Archaeology, a protective fence should be erected around it.
Along with M A Sumanthiran PC, attorneys-at-law Thinuka Sundararajan, Mahadevan Rajeevan, Ravikumar Mayuri and Kanapathippilai Pirabhakaran appeared on behalf of the petitioner.
The court is set to hear the objection on April 30.
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