Delhi HC seeks government’s reply on plea to rebuild all drains in Najafgarh

NEW DELHI:  The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the AAP government’s response on a PIL seeking reconstruction of all drains in Najafgarh and their proper cleaning to avoid water logging which, according to the plea, is a perennial problem in the area.

The petition, by an assistant professor, has contended that despite earlier directions by the high court in 2016 to take steps to fix the problem, no action has been taken by the Public Works Department (PWD) which is responsible for the maintenance of the drains in the area.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan, while issuing notice to the Delhi government, asked it whether any step has been taken as was directed by the high court in the past.
The counsel for the Delhi government told the court that the claims of the petitioner, Ravinder Yadav, were not correct.

The bench asked the Delhi government to file an affidavit indicating its response to the claims in the petition and listed it for hearing on December 7. Yadav, in his plea, has contended that despite filing repeated writ petitions and contempt cases since 2016 against the authorities concerned, people of the area have not received any relief.

“Drains have not been connected to the main drain; drains have not been constructed by taking proper bed level of drains, they have not been cleaned and there is no flow of water in the drains. It has led to heavy water logging year after year,” the petition claimed.