Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday appealed to Lt Governor V K Saxena to stop the proposed demolition of 74 religious structures for infrastructure development projects in the capital, saying it could hurt sentiments and lead to a serious law and order situation.
"Lakhs of devotees visit these religious structures and their demolition could trigger a law and order situation in the capital," a statement quoted Sisodia said. Sisodia's appeal came after the Delhi Police released reports, recommending that the religious structures should not be demolished.
The proposed infrastructure projects include the construction of flyovers, roads, and housing projects by the central government. "The Delhi Police reports mention that the demolition of religious structures will lead to massive protests and law and order situation in the capital that might escalate to riots," he said.
The deputy CM said these structures can be protected by making changes to the project designs. "In the era of modern architecture and technology, it is possible to modify designs to meet the requirements of the environment, and the same can be done in this case to save the temples, mazars, and gurudwaras," he said.
Development is essential, but it should not hurt people's religious sentiments, Sisodia said. Earlier this month, officials had said that Saxena has recalled files related to several pending infrastructure projects citing "inaction" on the part of the Dedlhi government.
They alleged that despite the recommendations of a committee to remove the "unauthorised religious structures" that have held up several key infrastructure projects, the Delhi government's home department, headed by Sisodia, has kept 78 such proposals from various agencies pending since May last year.
