The nod from the Supreme Court has removed the hurdles on the path of the Central Vista project. The Narendra Modi government is eager to portray the initiative — it includes a plan to build a new Parliament building — as one of its crowning achievements. In its response to petitions that had challenged the undertaking on account of such concerns as arbitrary changes to land use and the government’s alleged indifference to environment impact assessments, India’s highest court stuck to the legal technicalities of the matter at hand. The two judges who delivered the majority judgment found no infirmities in the approvals that had been granted by the powers that be. The court was also prudent enough to reiterate the boundaries between the judiciary and the executive, saying that it had been “called upon... to venture into territories that are way beyond the contemplated powers of a constitutional court”. However, it must be borne in mind that the judgment was not unanimous. The dissenting judge raised serious objections, arguing that several statutory provisions had been ignored in spite of public reservations. The criticism is likely to take some of the sheen off Mr Modi’s enterprise.

The apex court’s prioritization of environmental concerns must be welcomed. It has also reminded the petitioners that enquiring into the priorities of an elected government is not the court’s concern. The proverbial doubting Thomases — their tribe continues to swell — however, are not obliged to honour such probities. There is bound to be concern with the Centre’s priorities when an elected dispensation deems it fit to spend Rs 20,000 crore on the Central Vista while remaining tightfisted when it comes to alleviate the economic sufferings of the poor, the migrants as well as of small enterprises. Monetary relief remains a pipe dream for these constituencies; there have also been cuts in the allowances of India’s brave soldiers, the Congress has pointed out. The project, critics suggest, is also rich in a dark symbolism: that of a pluralist, representative India making way for an ambitious but far less inclusive or tolerant nation. It is now up to Mr Modi and his party to dispel these doubts.