Set up committee to prevent waterlogging, says Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the state government to form a committee of senior officers from various authorities to evolve a mechanism to desilt drains and prevent waterlogging during rains.

A division bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Vipin Sanghi directed the government that the committee must have senior officers from various authorities. The committee would include officers of the trifurcated municipal corporations, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), public works department (PWD), Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and irrigation department.

“Hold a discussion. All the heads of corporations and stakeholders should form a committee comprising experts so that every time people don’t have to rush to court over waterlogging,” the court said.

It added that the committee should hold meetings frequently. “The committee should hold frequent meetings for short-term measures to address the problem of waterlogging,” the court said.

Standing counsel Najmi Waziri was directed to inform the court within a week about the structure of the committee. The bench also summoned the DJB chief executive officer and sought his presence in the next hearing of the case after no counsel for the department showed up on Tuesday.

The order came while the court heard a contempt plea filed by an NGO charging civic agencies with non-compliance of the court’s July 11 order, which directed them to take steps to end waterlogging in Delhi within a fortnight.

NGO Nyaya Bhoomi president B B Sharan asked the court to initiate contempt of court proceedings against officials of the civic bodies. The NDMC counsel had earlier said no complaint of waterlogging was reported in its area. NDMC claimed that long-term plans existed under ‘Master Plan 2021’ to solve the problem of waterlogging.