Aurangabad, Nov 14:
The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has recommended the Central Government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to rethink over notification of Thatte Naher and Tank (in Begumpura) as a protected site.
The petitioner Anant Vinayak Thatte had filed a plea in the High Court urging to declare the tank and aqueduct as a protected site and undertake its repair and maintenance. However, the bench comprising Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice A G Gharote reserved their decision on December 5, 2019. However, the bench gave the above verdict on November 6.
The petitioner had mentioned that the tank and aqueduct were built by his ancestor Bhagwantrao Thatte Naik in 1762. Later on, in 1971, he claimed that the ASI signed an agreement with Thatte family. Hence they shifted the ownership and the responsibility of repair and maintenance of it to the department. Later on, the construction within 100 metres periphery was banned to prevent any sort of damage to the aqueduct, by the office. However, with the support of politicians, constructions took place in large numbers. In 2009, the ASI released a primary notification and invited suggestions and objections from people prior to declaring it as a protected structure. The final notification has not been released.
Adv Satish Talekar and Adv Pradnya Talekar represented the petitioner, while Adv Sanjeev Deshpande pleaded on behalf of the Central Government.