Inclined to refer review of Delhi’s infra to Union secy: HC | Latest News Delhi

The Delhi high court on Wednesday took a dim view of a report filed by a high-level committee headed by Delhi’s chief secretary that was formulated to give suggestions for the revamp of the Capital’s administrative, financial and physical infrastructure, and threatened to refer the issue to a Union secretary if a revised report is not shared by November 28, the next date of hearing.

The high court had constituted the committee on August 2, around a week after the July 27 death by drowning of three IAS aspirants at a coaching centre in Delhi, after the library of the institute — which was illegally operating out of the building’s basement — flooded following heavy rain.

Stating that the entire system in Delhi needed a relook in light of its “outdated” infrastructure, the court asked the committee to give suggestions for revamping Delhi’s administrative, financial and physical infrastructure, describing the situation in the Capital as “terrible” and “chaotic”, and said that it was no wonder that the city has ended up facing one crisis after another.

The commission also comprises the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) vice-chairman, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairman, and the Delhi Police commissioner.

On Wednesday, a bench of chief justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela said the committee had misconstrued its order as it had only confined its suggestions, filed on November 5, to Delhi’s drainage system, even though the court had asked it to review the city’s infrastructure in its entirety.

“Our order has been misconstrued. Our order has not been appreciated. Preliminary glance of this report shows that it is confined to the drainage system in Delhi. This court had asked to review the administrative physical and financial structure of Delhi in its entirety,” the court told advocate Santosh Kumar Tripathi, who appeared for the Delhi government.

Though the court expressed its inclination to refer the entire issue of reviewing city’s infrastructure to the Union Cabinet Secretary, it granted the committee an opportunity to file a better report and fixed November 28 as the next date of hearing.

“This court is inclined to refer the entire issue of review of administrative physical and financial structure of Delhi to the Cabinet secretary, Union of India. We want a report, otherwise we will send it to the Cabinet secretary,” the court said.

In its report, the committee had recommended transferring 22 major drains to the irrigation and flood control department by November 2024. The nine-page report had flagged the multiplicity of authorities, the management of roads and drains, the sewage network, and unauthorised colonies as hurdles in the drainage infrastructure.

The committee also proposed transferring the cleaning and maintenance of all the drains to MCD, empowering the agency to summarily improve encroachment on drains.

The report further recommended studying the legal framework and enactment of laws to ensure proper drainage/sewage needs, finalisation of deficiency charges between DDA and MCD by January 2025, and desilting drains round the year.

On August 2, the high court had also transferred the investigation into the deaths of the IAS aspirants to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while criticising the Delhi Police and MCD for failing to act against errant officials responsible for the tragedy, and the city government for its neglect to upgrade Delhi’s infrastructure.

CBI in October had filed a charge sheet naming six people as accused.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the court expressed its displeasure over the failure of various authorities in the Capital to coordinate in order to improve the city’s infrastructure, terming the state of affairs as “sad”.

“There cannot be a multiplicity of authorities, the fact that we have to ask them to sit over it, shows that the system is not working. This decision (to revamp has been taken after lives have been lost, the administration has to prevent all of this, it can’t be on a reactionary basis. It’s a sad state of affairs,” the court said to advocate Tripathi.