Clean up for soldiers: Delhi court gives PWD 24 hours to act after HT report

HT had exposed how soldiers from Rajputana Rifles Regiment are forced to wade through a foul-smelling, waste-choked culvert near Dhaula Kuan four times a day

The Delhi high court on Thursday gave the public works department (PWD) 24 hours to respond to its suggestion of cleaning and beautifying a culvert used daily by over 3,000 soldiers of the Rajputana Rifles Regiment on their way to the parade ground, after taking suo motu cognisance of a Hindustan Times report that highlighted the unsanitary conditions the soldiers were forced to endure.

A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora directed PWD’s counsel to seek instructions by Friday. (HT Archive)

A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora directed PWD’s counsel to seek instructions by Friday, noting that while plans for constructing a foot overbridge (FOB) were in motion, the work would take time and a short-term solution was urgently needed.

“The media report in HT today has been placed by the counsel for the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB), which shows that PWD is planning a FOB. Let proper instructions be obtained if the area can be cleaned, some landscaping can be done, since the construction of the foot overbridge may cause further inconvenience. The area, until then, can be cleaned. List tomorrow,” the bench said.

On Monday, the court had taken suo motu cognisance of HT’s report titled, “A smelly trail from barracks to grounds: Regiment’s daily battle in Delhi”, which exposed how soldiers from the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army are forced to wade through a foul-smelling, waste-choked culvert near Dhaula Kuan four times a day—twice before breakfast and twice after dusk—to reach their training ground from their barracks.

Calling the situation “unacceptable,” the court noted in its Monday order, “This court has, in this petition, given directions from time to time for cleaning of various drains within Delhi since 2024. This particular story relating to the soldiers who have to march through this drain is indeed an unacceptable situation. The report states that a bridge was requested but has not been built.”

DCB, which was directed to file a status report, submitted on Thursday that the land in question falls under the jurisdiction of the PWD.

Hindustan Times on Wednesday reported that the PWD was planning to construct a FOB between the Rajputana Rifles headquarters and their training ground located on the opposite side of the Ring Road near Dhaula Kuan.

As the work of the FOB was expected to take time, the bench asked PWD counsel if it could clean and beautify the culvert as a short-term measure.

The court is hearing a larger batch of suo motu petitions related to waterlogging and rainwater harvesting infrastructure across the capital. The plight of the soldiers, as reported by HT, was brought to the court’s notice during these proceedings.