Cuttack, Sept. 25: The issue of keeping the Bada Danda (Grand Road) in Puri free from commercial vending has returned to Orissa High Court.

Puri resident Jitendra Kumar Sahoo has filed a contempt petition against Puri Municipality for alleged violation of a high court order to keep the 2.5km stretch of national highway from the Jagannath temple to the Gundicha temple a non-vending zone.

Sahoo had earlier filed a PIL seeking intervention against Puri Municipality's bid to allot land for commercial purposes on the Bada Danda.

The contempt petition has alleged violation of the high court orders issued on June 30, 2016, and June 22 this year.

According to records, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) declared the stretch National Highway 203 on July 22, 2002, after the Puri roads and buildings division of the state government had handed over the 2.5km Bada Danda (with width varying from 39 metres to 41 metres) to them on April 17, 2002.

Taking note of the NHAI records, the high court had held that the Puri Municipality could not issue notice for construction of vending zone or grant temporary licence to shops to be set up on the earmarked area of the national highway.

In his contempt petition, Sahoo alleged that the municipality had been allotting licences for commercial vending on Bada Danda. The petition that was filed on Friday will be listed for hearing after the Puja vacation.

Initially, Sahoo had filed a PIL for intervention against a vending zone on Bada Danda some days before rath yatra in 2016.

During the course of hearing, Puri Municipality had given an undertaking in the high court that no vending zone would be established and no licence would be granted for opening of shops on the Bada Danda.

Taking into consideration the undertaking, the high court in its order on June 30 (July 6 was rath yatra) had said: 'In view of the aforesaid undertaking, since the municipal authorities are not going to have a vending zone or grant licence either permanent or temporary for construction of any shop room on Bada Danda, which has been declared a national highway, this court is of the considered view that the undertaking so given shall be given effect to.'

Sahoo again filed a petition citing two notices issued by the civic body on June 9 to June 17 inviting applications for opening of shops on the Bada Danda from Bada Sankha to Gundicha temple.

On June 22, three days before rath yatra, the division bench of Chief Justice Vineet Saran and Justice K.R. Mohapatra declined to pass any fresh order as the court had already passed its verdict for compliance.