High Court suggests airlifting Delhi's iconic 108-foot Hanuman statue to remove encroachments

Anguished over illegal constructions in the national capital, the Delhi High Court today suggested to the local authorities to consider "airlifting" of the 108-foot Hanuman statue in central Delhi to remove the encroachments around it. Observing that entire skyscrapers have been relocated completely in the United States, a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar gave the suggestion while hearing a PIL by an NGO seeking removal of unauthorised constructions and encroachments in the Karol Bagh area in the city. "Consider if the statue can be airlifted. Speak to the LG. You know, in the US, entire skyscrapers are shifted as a whole," it said. The court also said if the civic bodies could "at even one place show that the law was being enforced, "the mindset of the people of Delhi would change". It said enough opportunities have been given to the municipal corporations to enforce the law "but no one wants to do it". The matter came up before the bench today as the local authorities were seeking a modification with regard to the police station which would be responsible for implementing the court's November 15 direction to remove encroachments from the area. After modifying the order, the court listed the matter for hearing on November 24.