NGT ISSUES NOTICE TO DUSIB OVER LAND FOR CAR PARKING

NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has issued a show-cause notice to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for not handing over a plot of land to a traders’ body for using it as temporary car parking in Lajpat Nagar. The land, which measures around 5,000 square metres at Kasturba Niketan in Lajpat Nagar, was allotted to the traders’ body by the tribunal in 2015 to minimise traffic congestion.

The tribunal had, in 2015, disposed the matter after DUSIB submitted an affidavit stating that it would hand over the land to the traders’ body. However, till date, the land hasn’t been handed over to the traders’ body.

A bench headed by acting NGT chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim sought a response from the DUSIB over why no action should be taken against erring officers for failing to comply with the tribunal’s order.

The order came after advocate Gautam Singh, appearing for the body, sought execution of the NGT order directing DUSIB to allot the land as a temporary parking site for vehicles till a multi-level parking is constructed by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) in that area. The petitioner claimed that without a temporary parking space, hundreds of vehicles were being forced to park on both sides of the metalled road every day, violating NGT orders. It also claimed that pedestrians were not being able to walk on footpaths as t hey have been encroached upon. In 2015, the green court had banned parking of cars on metalled roads in Delhi and even imposed a fine of ₹1,000 for any violation.