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From: "Architexturez." <admin-in@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 10:03:32 +0530
Bias charge on jury for botanical garden
Aruna P. Sharma
New Delhi, September 14
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The results of the international architecture competition held for the
environment ministry's botanical garden project in Noida have sparked
off a controversy following charges of alleged favouritism.
The results were announced last week.
Four of the jury members and the winner of the competition, Surendra
Suneja, are from the same institution ? School of Planning and
Architecture (SPA). Suneja is head of the SPA's landscape department.
"I see no clash of interest and the ministry simply approved the
decision of the jury," was all Union environment ministry secretary
Pradipto Ghosh said.
However, according to the Council of Architecture guidelines, the entire
process of selection goes against the spirit of "free and fair
competition". The guidelines clearly state that jurors and competitors
cannot be from the same institution.
Landscape architect from Noida, Rajesh Shukla, who won the third prize,
alleged "professional misconduct" in SPA members presiding over a
competition and handing the trophy to a colleague.
Shukla has demanded that the ministry review its decision.
Well-known designer of Delhi Haat and the Garden of Five Senses, Pradeep
Sachdeva, who made it to the second stage of the competition, said he
would write to the ministry soon to lodge his protest so that
competitions are held in a free and fair manner.
The ministry had set up a 14-member jury to judge the 20 entries. The
four from the SPA are Ansari, former SPA director (who retired on July
31); P.B. Bhagwat, Ravindra Bhan and Satish Khanna — all three are
either visiting faculty members or jurors in the landscape architecture
activities of the SPA.
Ministry officials denied allegations of favouritism, citing the fact
that the jury had 14 members.
However, it is the experts' opinion that matters and other jury members,
including government officials, normally go along with their opinion,
another finalist said.
The Rs 200-crore project, called the Botanic Garden of India Republic,
is to come up on a 200-acre plot. Of the 20 entries, seven were
shortlisted for the second stage of the competition.
According to the Council of Architecture guidelines, all such
competitions need to be completed in two stages.
But in this case, it was dragged through a third stage. To camouflage
this, they called it the extended “second stage”.
Controversy, then and now
• When the Astha Kunj design competition was held by the DDA two years
ago, it immediately courted controversy. In that competition too, A.K.
Moitra, then SPA director, was on the jury that handed the first prize
to his colleague M. Shaheer.
• Ex-Council of Architecture chief P.R. Mehta who was on the jury said
it was an ethical decision. “Law is that your own employee will not
compete,” he said.