HC raps authorities over failure to clean Kushak nullah

NEWDELHI: Cracking a whip on the authorities for failing to clean the Kushak drain under the Barapulla flyover, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday summoned senior officials of three municipal bodies and the Delhi government to chalk out a plan to clean it.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and justice V Kameswar Rao asked the engineer-in-chief of the Public Works Department (PWD) and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), the Member (Water Supply) of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Principal Secretary of the Urban Development Department to present themselves on December 11 so that there is “no passing the buck” among them.

The court’s order came during the hearing of a contempt plea. Manjit Singh Chugh, a resident, moved a plea seeking action against officials for not complying with the high court’s earlier orders on the issue.

The bench noted that the drain was not being cleaned despite repeated orders that were not being implemented in letter or spirit. It directed that all senior officials go through the earlier orders before presenting themselves in court for the “meaningful compliance” of its directions.

Stating that it would also consider setting up a committee to monitor the laying down of a timeline for the implementation of its repeated directions to clean up the drain, the court clarified that senior officials would be liable for non-compliance of its directions in future.

The contempt plea came in the wake of the court’s 2012 orders to clean up the drain after debris in Kushak ‘nullah’ led to waterlogging in South Extension-ii and surrounding areas.

At the last hearing in the matter held on November 22, the court had directed all concerned PWD officials of the AAP government to appear before it on Tuesday and explain why action should not be taken against them.