Delhi sealing: SC seeks detailed status of special task force

The Supreme Court Friday sought details on the status of a special task force (STF), set up on its order, for overseeing enforcement of laws on unauthorised construction and removal of encroachments in Delhi.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta was informed by senior counsel Ranjit Kumar, assisting the top court as an amicus curiae in the matter, that the Centre in its response to a report filed by a monitoring committee on sealing has sought scrapping of the panel itself.

The Centre has taken this stand stating that the STF is already working and the court-mandated committee should not continue anymore, the amicus said.

Kumar referred to the report filed in the apex court by the committee which stated, "All the actions of the STF depict that the STF has completely failed to deliver what was expected of it as there are heavy encroachments on pedestrian pathways, roads in addition to large scale illegal construction going on unabated."