MP High Court Warns PM Housing Mission Director Over Delay In Indore Light House Project Reply

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday took a stern view of the delay in addressing the grievances of residents of the Light House Project at Gulmarg Parisar-2 in Indore, warning that the Mission Director of the Central government's housing mission would have to appear through video conferencing if a reply is not filed before the next hearing.

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Narendra Goswami on behalf of the residents, a division bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar and Justice Alok Awasthi granted counsel for the Union government one week to seek instructions and file a short reply.

The court made it clear that failure to do so would require the Mission Director to personally explain the matter through video conferencing on the next date of hearing.

During the hearing, Indore Municipal Commissioner Kshitij Singhal informed the court that the civic body had already written several letters to the Mission Director as well as the director of KPR Projectcon Pvt Ltd, the agency responsible for the construction and maintenance of the Light House Project, seeking the necessary action.

Taking note of the commissioner's submission, the bench observed that it was satisfied with the response at this stage and passed no further directions on that aspect. The matter has now been listed for hearing on July 28.

The PIL stems from long-standing complaints by residents regarding poor construction quality and the contractor's alleged failure to rectify defects.

In its earlier order dated May 8, the High Court had taken cognisance of complaints, including cracks in wall panel joints, seepage in toilets and bathrooms, uneven flooring slopes, leakages in SWR and CPVC pipelines, poor finishing in open-to-sky areas, missing service duct fittings, and inadequate extension of waste pipes, resulting in a foul smell on the upper floors.

The court also referred to an Indore Municipal Corporation letter dated Apr 12, 2024, directing the contractor to maintain a complaint register, deploy a dedicated maintenance team, conduct a door-to-door survey of all flats, and resolve complaints within seven days.

The contractor had also been warned that any accident resulting from failure to address these deficiencies would invite strict action.