‘Shocking state of affairs’: Delhi HC slams MCD over open drains

Delhi HC criticizes MCD for failure to clean and barricade open drain in Ghazipur, leading to deaths. Calls for dissolution of MCD due to negligence.

The Delhi high court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for its failure to cover, barricade and clean the open drain in Ghazipur in east Delhi area, where a woman and her three-year-old son died after they allegedly fell into the waterlogged drain on July 31, and said that the current situation presented a “shocking” state of affairs and was a “fit case for us to say that MCD should be dissolved”.

A 22-year-old woman and her three-year-old son drowned into a half-open, under-construction drain in a waterlogged street in the Ghazipur area in east Delhi on July 31. (Sakib Ali /HT Photo)

A bench of acting chief justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed MCD to clean and barricade the area, as it criticised the civic body for failing to act against the errant officials.

The court was of the view that the administration has become a “cosy club”, adding that the department today believed that acting against someone was a “crime” and did not have the courage to act against their own officials. “Your (MCD) officials, they fly like a bee and sting like a butterfly. They don’t have the courage to take action against their own officials. There is no brotherly love over there. The senior officers have to perform their jobs,” the bench said to advocate Manu Chaturvedi, who represented the MCD and deputy commissioner, Shahdara, MCD.

“Please see the photos… How is it reaching this stage?... This is sad state of affairs... You are not working. You don’t work. The whole city has to suffer. People are dying, you are not concerned… Are you working or not working? It’s a fit case for us to say that MCD should be dissolved,” the court said.

Read Here: MCD asks Delhi fire dept to suggest new ways to douse landfill fires, NGT told

“You took over the stretch of road … April 2023 (and) till now July what have you done,” it added.

It said the assistant engineer, junior engineer and executive engineer have not done anything. “If they have not done it, they should’ve been shown the door. Today your department believes that doing something is a crime. There is brotherly love between the departments. The administration has become a cosy club. Every day we are losing lives due to negligence. The fact that this stretch of road is not barricaded and is not cleaned for years is a startling state of affairs.”

The bench reprimanded the civic body days after it hauled up MCD for failing to act against its own officials who were responsible for the drowning of three IAS aspirants at the basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajendra Nagar. On Friday, the high court, while transferring the probe into the coaching centre deaths to the Central Bureau of Investigation, said that the entire system in Delhi needed a relook in light of the city’s outdated infrastructure.

The court was responding to a petition filed by Jhunnu Lal, a resident of Mayur Vihar, seeking action against the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) contractor and officials for their alleged negligence that led to the deaths on July 31. Tanuja, 22, and her son Priyansh, 3, drowned into a half-open, under-construction drain in a waterlogged street, when they were coming back from a weekly market in the Ghazipur area in east Delhi. The incident took place around 8pm near Khoda Colony area, where the roadside drain was under construction.

Read Here | Delhi LG empowered to nominate aldermen to MCD: SC

The petition underscored that DDA violated its own circular issued in 1996 directing all engineers to cover manholes and leave no gaps on deep covered drains. The petition stated that DDA and Delhi Police have failed to fix accountability and punish the erring contractor for the deaths.

The DDA represented by advocate Prabhsahay Kaur defended the civic body asserting that though the bodies were recovered from the drain, which was under its jurisdiction, the duo had fallen on the stretch of drain that was under MCD’s jurisdiction. She added that the civic agency installed a screen and covered all the drains along the stretch of road which fell within its jurisdiction. “The drain with DDA was fully covered and it is not a temporary covering, but with slabs,” she said. In furtherance of her contention, she also drew the court’s attention towards an order passed in January this year, wherein the court disposed of a plea pertaining to the same road after MCD’s counsel submitted that the agency appointed a contractor to clean the road.

The MCD counsel admitted that though the drains along the stretch of road falling under its jurisdiction were uncovered, the corporation was in the process of covering the same. The MCD deputy commissioner, Shahdara, however, assured to clean and barricade the area around the drain to prevent any accident.

Considering the contentions, the bench expressed dismay over DDA and MCD passing the buck to each other and emphasised that the authorities were turning a blind eye. “The jurisdiction has to be determined by the two of you,” the bench said to the lawyers who appeared for MCD and DDA. The bench also criticised Delhi Police for its slow pace of probe.

Consequently, the court directed Delhi Police, MCD and DDA to file a status report indicating its progress pursuant to the directions issued by the court and fixed August 22 as the next date of hearing.