On September 1 last year, a portion of the 45 metre-high garbage dump in east Delhi’s Ghazipur had collapsed due to heavy rains, killing two people.
Taking note of continuing lack of coordination between the different government agencies and the Delhi government, the National Green Tribunal(NGT) asked why it shouldn’t take punitive action against erring officials for not complying with its order on the fire incidents at Ghazipur landfill site.
The bench headed by acting Chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim directed the Commissioner of Police and Commissioner of East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) to file a statement of compliance pertaining to recurring incidents of fire at the Ghazipur landfill site. The bench also exempted the presence of the Commissioner of Police but asked him to file a detailed report.
The bench asked, “Why the tribunal should not take punitive action against all officers of municipal corporations and NCT Delhi for violation and not complying with directions issued by the tribunal from time to time, particularly in relation to the Ghazipur site and in the case of Almitra H Patel?” It went on to ask why “compensation” shouldn’t be given “to families of persons who died and/or suffered as a result of this unfortunate incident resulting from sheer negligence and irresponsible performance of their duties by local authorities.”
It took note of the lack of coordination between the Delhi government, the fire department and the municipal corporations and asked them to resolve the differences and work in tandem. “We direct each of these entities to submit to the tribunal as to what is the nature of coordination and cooperation they seek from each other. In fact, we would desire them to resolve this issue among themselves and work in-tandem,” the bench said.
The tribunal had earlier rapped the EDMC over its report on a recent fire incident at the Ghazipur landfill site, saying it cannot allow non-compliance of its orders to solve the issue. Advocate Sanjay Upadhyay had earlier told the NGT that after a major fire on September 1 last year, another fire had broken on March 18 at the landfill site and as per the tribunal’s order in case of such incidents, appropriate action be taken against authorities concerned.
On September 1 last year, a portion of the 45 metre-high garbage dump in east Delhi’s Ghazipur had collapsed due to heavy rains, killing two people.