Dwarka cleanliness: HC seeks presence of DDA, SDMC, DMRC

Delhi High Court today sought the presence of the Chief Engineers of DDA and south MCD as well as Deputy General Manager (civil) of DMRC to explain delays in the carrying out of cleanliness and sanitation works in the Dwarka sub city area.
A bench of justices BD Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva sought the presence of the officers after the court was informed that Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has identified nine sites in Dwarka, designated for green areas, to be handed over to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to build 'dhalaos' (closed garbage dumps).
"So, there is no place for dhalaos in master plan for Dwarka? Won't the land use have to be changed for building the dhalaos?" the court asked.

Another reason for calling the officials was the "lingering" issue of ownership of the land over which metro tracks are built. The ownership would decide as to who would clean the land.
While Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has said the land does not belong to it, DDA said the issue is yet to be resolved and, in the interim, the District Magistrate of the area has tasked SDMC with cleaning the stretches beneath the tracks.
That has been opposed by the municipal body, which has said the order is not binding on it.

The court was hearing a PIL by Ebbani Aggarwal, a law student and resident of Dwarka, who has sought directions to the civic agencies to clean up its sub-city area.

The bench listed the matter for further hearing on February 25.
During the proceedings, DDA informed the court that instead of 18 sites for dhalaos, the authority has identified nine sites which have the same capacity as that of 15 dumps while three other sites would be identified soon.