Over 2,000 km of roads, streets and footpaths in Delhi have been cleared of encroachments till August 31, the Delhi Development Agency (DDA) informed the Supreme Court on Friday.
But the statistic, instead of impressing the Bench, led by Justice Madan B. Lokur, alarmed it about the impunity with which encroachments mushroom in the Capital.
“That is about the distance from Delhi to Mumbai… Now, will we in the future see encroachments cover the distance from Delhi to Kanyakumari?” Justice Lokur asked the DDA.
The Bench noted in its order the fact that encroachments had consumed 2,280.43 km of public space, before they were demolished in the sealing drive, was a cause of “distress”. The court is monitoring the progress of sealing operations against illegal constructions in Delhi.
‘Shrinking from duty’
It even threatened to summon the DDA Vice-Chairperson in person for a “chat” after reading a recent report from the sealing monitoring committee, which blamed various government agencies, including the DDA, for “shrinking away from duty”.
The committee, Justice Lokur read from the report, said the agencies were simply not cooperating.
The panel said it was not getting adequate support from the government agencies and were facing constraints to such an extent that it was unable to comply with the court’s orders.
“Obviously, builders and others like them, are putting pressure on you [government agencies]. You have to work for all the people of Delhi and not just some sections of the people,” Justice Lokur said.
The action taken report submitted in the Supreme Court showed that 844.33 km of encroachments were cleared in the North Delhi Municipal Corporation area. Another 811.01 km was cleared of illegal constructions in south Delhi. The area of encroachments cleared in east Delhi is 601.2 km and by the New Delhi Municipal Council is 11 km.