New Delhi, Dec 6 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Friday said drains cannot be allowed to remain clogged as the city should not suffer with another flooding in the next monsoon and issued a notice for contempt to two senior officers of the Delhi government for "ignoring" judicial orders.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora said the cost of drains being clogged in the city and waterlogging was to be borne by the city residents and couldn't be allowed to continue.

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The bench took a strong exception to non-compliance of the court's previous order directing the Delhi government to ensure that portions of the Taimoor Nagar drain in southeast Delhi was cleaned to enable an unhindered water flow from the drain towards River Yamuna.

The court was informed by counsel for one of the parties that no cleaning work had happened in the Taimoor Nagar drain which continued to be clogged.

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The bench noted the Delhi chief secretary was directed to call a meeting of all the civic authorities concerned responsible for the drain in order to create a special task force to ensure the unclogging of this drain.

"It was the duty of the chief secretary to ensure unclogging of the drain. We will issue a notice of contempt to the chief secretary," the bench orally remarked.

However, the bench at the request of the Delhi government's counsel did not issue notice of contempt to the chief secretary for now.

The court said even a direction, issued to K S Jayachandran, the special secretary of integrated drains management cell (Delhi) to ensure all obstructions and garbage were removed for a free flow of water into the river, was not complied with.

"Clearly the orders of the court are not just being ignored but are being violated with impunity. The cost of these drains being clogged, allowing waterlogging is to be borne by the residents of Delhi. The status cannot continue as it is, that too in blatant disregard of the orders of this court," the bench said.

The court further said, "The violation is in the face of the court. Accordingly, notice issued as to why contempt action ought not be initiated against the special secretary, IDMC and the administrative head, Irrigation and Flood Control Department of Delhi government."

The bench directed that an affidavit should be filed by the officers within three days in response to this notice and both of them should be present before the court on the next date, December 20.

The court said the photographs of the drain were self explanatory and none of the areas in the drain were cleaned.

The court was dealing with two suo motu petitions dealing with water logging and rainwater harvesting and easing traffic jams in the national capital during monsoon and other periods.

It was also hearing pleas of several Delhi residents, including lawyers, over the flooding of roads, homes and offices after rains due to clogged stormwater and sewage drains.

Another plea by the residents of JJ cluster Madrasi Camp at Jangpura against the eviction notice and seeking rehabilitation was also being heard by the court.

Residents of Madrasi Camp in the Old Barapullah Bridge area are facing eviction to make way for the construction of a new flyover.

The bench was informed by the authorities that they were ascertaining the list of jhuggi dwellers eligible for rehabilitation when it made it clear that those slum dwellers, ineligible for rehabilitation, will face removal if found obstructing the drain in any way.

"We are making it very clear that insofar as the timeline for removal is concerned, we will consider academic calendars, if they have to be considered. However, there will be no compromise on the fact that the blockage on the drain has to be removed. That's all," it said.

The bench told the counsel for the slum dwellers that they may be considering the interest of their clients but the consideration of the court was overall people of Delhi and safety of its residents.

"It can't be one jhuggi camp stopping that. Nobody is targeting anyone. Ultimate aim is to ensure that drains are de-clogged so that we don't face another flooding the next monsoon," the court said.

The court previously asked the Delhi chief secretary to step in and take administrative action against erring officials responsible for not de-silting drains in the city that led to waterlogging, instead of presenting a "rosy picture" before it.

It then pulled up the Delhi government for its failure to regulate the emission of sewage and industrial waste in the Yamuna River, stating that its sewage treatment plants were not working according to capacity and something was "drastically wrong" with them.

The lawyers appearing for the aggrieved persons claimed that drains in their area were not de-silted before the onset of the monsoon season, and when the exercise was undertaken by the authorities in some areas, the sludge was left on the road, only to be carried back into the drain after fresh rainfall.

Some lawyers claimed their offices in Defence Colony, Malviya Nagar and Maharani Bagh were flooded, causing damage to their equipment, including computers and printers, besides furniture and refrigerators.

The court also heard the issue of flooding in Kotla Mubarakpur and Garhi village.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)