The Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice R. M. Joshi, directed the administration on Tuesday to remove encroachments on land where owners could not prove ownership and acquire it for the proposed Daulatabad bypass road.
The bench noted that the central government had reported a delay in land acquisition for the proposed bypass, intended as an alternative to the frequent traffic jams at the gate on the south side of the Daulatabad fort leading to the Ellora caves.
Several tourists visit Ellora caves, Ghrushneshwar temple, Bhadra Maruti, Jar Jari Jar Baksh Dargah, Maloji Bhosale Gadhi, and Maheshmal. However, they often encounter traffic jams at the south gate of the Daulatabad fort, which is also an accident-prone area. In response to news reports in local newspapers, the bench admitted a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed on this issue. Advocate Neha Kamble acted as the Amicus Curiae. The bench directed notices to be issued to concerned departments of both the central and state governments.
Advocate Bhushan Kulkarni, representing the central government, explained that the delay in land acquisition was due to encroachments on the proposed bypass, prompting the bench to issue the aforementioned order.
