Govt given 2 months to solve city's water logging probelm

A bench of justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Vipin Sanghi allowed the plea for time after Delhi Government Standing Counsel Najmi Waziri submitted that the third meeting of 15-member co-ordination committee was scheduled to be held today to prepare the action plan to deal with the problem.

"Various agencies including the MCDs will come forward with the existing measures to handle the water logging problem. The committee will also look into the suggestions from IIT professors for drainage system in the city," Waziri said and sought more time for evolving long term-measures.

The bench sought a status report from the government and fixed December 14 for further hearing of the matter.

Following an earlier court order, the city government had last month constituted a co-ordination committee headed by its chief secretary to evolve a mechanism to desilt drains to prevent water logging during monsoon here.

The committee also comprised heads of trifurcated MCD, the NDMC and other civic bodies to look into the issue of water logging.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions including that of NGO Nyaya Bhoomi on the issue.

One of the petitions had claimed that the MCD and the PWD have done nothing significant after 1998 to properly desilt drains and this was causing water logging on major roads even after the slightest of rain.

Giving a list of 41 water logging-prone areas here, the petition referred to a response received under an RTI application and said affected areas included Ashram Chowk, South Extension Part-I, Mathura Road, ISBT Kashmere Gate, RTR Marg near Moti Bagh flyover, Siri Fort Road, Dhaula Kuan underpass and underpasses around Dwarka.