Ensure desilting before rains: HC to civic bodies, Delhi govt
The court has issued a notice to the Delhi government, the three Corporations, the Delhi Jal Board and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department
NEW DELHI: With the rains arriving in the national Capital, the Delhi High Court on Monday directed all the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDS) and the Delhi government to indicate whether the drains in the city have been desilted to ensure roads and colonies are not flooded.
A bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and AK Chawla took up the issue as a PIL after coming across a media report which said that sewages and stormwater drain in the city have not been desilted.
The article also said that where desilting has taken place, the waste or the rubble from the drains have been left on their side and not taken away to a landfill site.
The news report also carried photographs of the desilted material lying alongside the drain, the court said.
The bench issued a notice to the Delhi government, the three Corporations, the Delhi Jal Board and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department and sought their reply by June 28 on the PIL initiated by the court on its own. It directed the authorities to file affidavits indicating the number of drains in their jurisdiction, steps taken for desilting and cleaning them to ensure the free flow of water and sewage as well as photographs of the current status of the drains.
When the bench was told that a similar plea regarding clean up of drains was being heard by the National Green Tribunal for some time, the court remarked: “nothing seems to be happening”.
Earlier, Lieutenant- Governor Anil Baijal had constituted a high-level committee to look after the desilting of drains and open manholes in the city so that Delhiites do not have to face waterlogging problems during this monsoon.
The committee comprises various agencies, including the Public Works Department, the three Municipal Corporations, Delhi Cantt, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), among others. It will be headed by the PWD Secretary.