Demolition men back, this time it’s not just bottles

NEW DELHI: In a kneejerk reaction, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Sunday carried out an encroachment removal drive in Nizamuddin area after a rap from the Delhi high court Chief Justice for ignoring the court’s directions.
An official from SDMC’s central zone said that the drive was focused on putting an end to traffic congestion on Mathura Road, near Humayun’s Tomb, Neela Gumbad and Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah. While 42 temporary sheds were demolished, a number of rehris (vending carts), iron benches, tables, iron grilles and boards, refrigerators and other articles were removed. “Apart from this, two kiosks were closed and the occupiers issued notices to immediately remove them,” the official said.

The drive was carried out on a PIL filed by Jamia Arabia Nizamia Welfare Educational Society alleging that the authorities had been ignoring large-scale violations, rampant illegal construction, unauthorised parking and traffic congestion near the dargah and Humayun’s Tomb. The petitioner alleged that SDMC and police carried out a farce in the name of an encroachment removal drive.

The court recently got a glimpse of the corporation’s lethargic performance while taking stock of the progress on steps taken to curb traffic congestion. In the last hearing, SDMC had annexed a list of items seized during its previous drive, which included “an empty plastic bottle, an icebox, a soft drinks trolley, a plastic stool and a broken chair, apart from a few rehris.”

Taking a dim view of the civic body’s and the traffic police’s approach to the court’s directions, a bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Anup J Bhambani cracked the whip asking the SDMC commissioner and DCP (traffic) to appear before it on the next hearing, April 16.

“In spite of repeated orders, we are sorry to note that the problem of traffic congestion in the area has not been addressed. Police and SDMC are blaming each other for the same,” the bench noted in its order.

Last year, the local police had informed the court that the lieutenant governor had formed a special taskforce on decongestion and parking in the area. It had also claimed to having cracked down on unauthorised guesthouses near the dargah and booked hundreds of owners who parked their vehicles illegally. Police had conceded that on physical verification, they had found 69 illegal guesthouses running in the area.