Reduced us to municipal commissioners: Delhi HC to PWD on blocked sewer lines in Tihar

The high court on August 13 had directed the Delhi government to chalk out a plan and find a permanent solution to the issue.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday the Public Works Department (PWD) for its failure to take adequate measures to clean clogged drains in Tihar Jail, leaving inmates in unhygienic conditions.

Reduced us to municipal commissioners: Delhi HC to PWD on blocked sewer lines in Tihar

This was after a bench comprising chief justice DK Upadhyay and justice Tushar Rao Gedela took note of a report submitted by the Tihar Jail superintendent on August 17, which mentioned that although a new sewer line was laid by the PWD last year, the contractor failed to connect it to the main sewer line, leaving the work incomplete and the blockage unresolved.

The report further noted that despite multiple requests from prison authorities, the PWD did not act, and cleaning efforts only began after the court’s intervention. To be sure, the high court on August 13 had directed the Delhi government to chalk out a plan and find a permanent solution to the issue.

“You received letters from the prison authorities pertaining not only to ensure connecting sewer lines to the main line but also to clean the premises? And you have been made aware of it since March. Why have you woken up only when this petition has been filed?” the bench said to the PWD’s executive engineer, who was present in the court.

“Why did you not attend the problem in March or April or before the monsoon? Can you understand the problems faced by inmates due to the sanitation issues with sewage lines? We have been reduced to municipal commissioners,” the court order stated.

Responding to the court’s questions, the PWD official submitted that the department, as a temporary measure, had begun cleaning the sewer lines, and the work would be completed by Monday. He also stated that the newly laid sewer line would be connected to the main line within four weeks.

Taking note of the official’s statement, the court disposed of the plea filed by a life convict seeking repair of the blocked drainage system.

“We thus record the statement made by the official and dispose of the petition. Any laxity on the PWD’s part in ensuring compliance of the part of the order shall be considered seriously by the court,” the bench said in its order.

The petition had asserted that severe drainage blockage in Tihar Jail No 2 had led to unhygienic living conditions, foul odour, waterlogging and mosquitoes breeding.