New Delhi:
Mayawati is finally enjoying a good run with her parks.
This weekend as a tribute to Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary on December 6 she will inaugurate two parks in honour of Dalit leader BR Ambedkar in Lucknow. Together, they cost the government 150 crores.
A much bigger memorial, priced at 650 crores, in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi, has also been cleared by the Supreme Court today.
Residents of the suburb took Mayawati to court a year ago, arguing that construction at the park would adversely impact the Okhla bird sanctuary nearby.
Since they filed their case, the court had suspended all construction at the park.
That order has been lifted now. With some caveats.
The court has ruled that construction - including the pillars with her party's symbol, the elephant, that are a trademark of her parks - cannot cover more than 25% of the park's 33 hectares.
Of the rest, at least half the land has to be planted with trees.
Several other court cases have challenged Mayawati's decision to use taxpayers' money to fund these memorials. Those remain unsettled.