India News | HC Directs Delhi Govt to Assign Responsibility of Drains to One Agency
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Observing that there is an absolute lack of coordination between departments, the Delhi High Court has directed the city government to assign the responsibility of management and operations of all 22 open drains here to one department or agency under a unified and centralised command by April 30.
New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) Observing that there is an absolute lack of coordination between departments, the Delhi High Court has directed the city government to assign the responsibility of management and operations of all 22 open drains here to one department or agency under a unified and centralised command by April 30.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan noted that Delhi's major storm water drains, spanning about 3,740.31 km, are managed by a multiplicity of agencies under the jurisdiction of various governments, resulting in mismanagement which not only polluted Yamuna but also made people suffer.
It took note of the flooding of the Purana Quila Road and the Mathura Road as well as the newly built tunnel near Bharat Mandapam in the monsoon of 2023, while asserting that there was a need for a vision by the administrators to manage the present and anticipate the future.
It sought a report with respect to the 105 waterlogging locations identified by the traffic police.
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"There is no incentive for efficient management of the drainage system due to administrative chaos. The city and its citizenry waits with apprehension when monsoons are approaching due to this mismanagement of drains while the administrative agencies have been adopting an Ostrich-like approach wishing the flooding won't happen," the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, remarked in an order passed on April 8.
"Therefore, it is hereby directed that GNCTD shall assign the responsibility of management and operations of all twenty-two (22) open drains, which are out falling in river Yamuna, to one Department / Agency. The GNCTD shall identify such Department / Agency and orders be issued by 30th April, 2024...The need for a unified and centralized command is imperative and is hereby directed," the bench ordered.
The court's order came on two suo motu petitions, initiated on its own, on the waterlogging problem in Delhi and on the issue of rainwater harvesting and easing traffic jams in the national capital during monsoon and other periods.
In the order, the court sought a report from the nominated department by May 15 with respect to assessment of quantity of silt in the 22 drains, adding that the action plan for their de-silting of such drains should be undertaken on a war footing and encroachments should be removed.
"Delhi has been facing the fury of river Yamuna in spate year after year with last year (2023) being particularly bad. Waterlogging, flooding and related collapse of civic services have become perennial issues," it said.
"There is an absolute lack of coordination between different agencies / departments. A mechanism to address the same with a unified command at an appropriate level of seniority, that can ensure interdepartmental / agency and inter-government coordination seamlessly, is the need of the hour," added the bench.
The court further said the nominated department must ensure an operative plan for regular repair and maintenance of the drains, including embankment of such drains and prevention of dumping of solid waste in such drains by dissuading public from disposing garbage in them and taking penal actions against defaulters etc.
The court also asked the Delhi government to submit an action plan in relation to "interconnection points" of storm water drains and sewage drains, directing that such points must be tapped by June 30.
It also sought an action taken report and an action plan on unauthorised polluting industries and clarified that no industrial unit should discharge its untreated effluent into open drains, else face closure.
Directing regular surprise inspections by cross functional teams of MCD, Revenue, Delhi Police and other agencies to identify such unauthorized polluting industries, the court also sought a report on this aspect so that concerned officers who fail to stop such unauthorized polluting industries are held accountable.
To verify the actions taken by the agencies on ground, the court said the authorities shall undertake a third party audit by central government or the state government or their PSUs.
"This would ensure that the work done are realized at ground instead of being done on paper only. First of such report of third party(s)audit shall be made available in the public domain by 30th June, 2024," it ordered.
The listed the matter for further hearing on May 20.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)