February 25, 2025 - The Supreme Court has expressed displeasure over the non-compliance with its December 2023 order regarding the restoration of wetlands in Ajmer under the Centre’s Smart City Development Mission. The Court has warned of Contempt of Courts Act  and directed the Chief Secretary of Rajasthan to appear via video conferencing on March 17. It added that in order to avoid contempt proceedings, the latter must personally submit an affidavit regarding the compliance of the Court’s orders.

The Bench, comprising of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, said it was necessary to hear the Chief Secretary before initiating contempt proceedings for the non-compliance of the order dated December 1, 2023.

“We wonder how a city can become smart without protecting the water bodies/wetlands in the city and how cities will become smarter by making encroachments on the water bodies/wetlands.”, the Bench observed.

Concerned officials have been pulled up for not complying with Court instructions and have been told to provide a factual report regarding the implementation of the December 2023 order.

The Bench pointed out that the affidavit presented by the Department of Local Self-Government showed a stance of neglect rather than compliance, despite being directed to specify the timeline for implementing the order. The Court also noted that the affidavit submitted by the Commissioner of Ajmer Smart City Limited also indicated disregard for the order.

“If the State of Rajasthan is seriously interested in purging the contempt, we expect the Chief Secretary to file his personal affidavit reporting compliance with at least some of the directions issued under the impugned judgment as well as under the order dated 13th December, 2021, passed by the National Green Tribunal”, the Court said.