‘Enormous confusion’: HC pulls up civic agencies over waterlogging

Pointing out “enormous confusion” prevailing among various civic agencies due to improper delineation of responsibilities, the Delhi High Court on Monday instructed the Rekha Gupta-led government to decide on centralising administration and management in the Capital.

A Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Manmeet P.S. Arora was hearing two petitions dealing with waterlogging and rainwater harvesting in Delhi.

The court said stormwater drains are under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s jurisdiction and sewage lines under the Delhi Jal Board. “This has led to non-maintenance of either of the lines, leading to excessive flooding in the city,” the court observed.

It said that in most colonies, water drains were also blocked by residents or constructions, leading to their perpetual clogging.

In the pending petitions, an application was filed by the Residents Welfare Association of Maharani Bagh, mentioning that a new problem had arisen due to the action of the Delhi government’s Public Works Department.

The court has been examining various aspects related to the Taimur Nagar drain adjacent to Maharani Bagh colony and has been issuing directions from time to time.

The court was informed that certain well marks or holes were made in the walls on the ring road through which water flowed into the Maharani Bagh colony, flooding the area.

The PWD argued that these were not new holes but well marks that already existed and were blocked by the residents and had now been opened.

The court said the residents’ plea showed the apathy existing across Delhi due to multiple agencies functioning.

The court observed that it has to summon agencies, including MCD, PWD, DJB, DDA, Irrigation and Flood Control Department, before it for a consensus to be arrived at and for an effective implementation of its directions.

“Between these agencies, there is enormous confusion, which is caused due to improper delineation of responsibilities leading to passing the buck on most occasions,” the court said.

It said the time had come for the Delhi Government to take a comprehensive decision on the manner in which civic services in Delhi needed to be managed and administered.

On the Maharani Bagh issue, the court directed the PWD and MCD to hold a meeting with the residents on August 2 after conducting a site inspection and file a joint status report on the efforts to solve the issue.