Open garbage next to house violates right to live with dignity: Delhi HC

Presence of a public urinal and open garbage bin right next to one's house violates the right to live with dignity in a clean and healthy environment under the Constitution, the Delhi High Court has said.

Justice Amit Bansal stated that a hygienic environment was an integral aspect of a healthy life and the absence of a healthy environment frustrates the right to live with dignity.

The court passed the order while dealing with a lawyer's petition raising a grievance against the construction of an unauthorised open garbage bin and urinal on the eastern walls of his property.

The petitioner contended that about 150 residents in his neighbourhood used the garbage bin to dispose of their waste and in spite of several requests to the MCD officials to maintain sanitary conditions near the bin and the urinal, no action was taken.

 

The court directed the MCD to forthwith demolish the open dustbin and the urinal next to the house of the petitioner, observing that the presence of an open garbage bin as well as public urinal was "undoubtedly a nuisance".

"One of the integral aspects of a healthy life is a hygienic environment. Absence of a healthy environment would frustrate the right of the petitioner to live with dignity. The presence of a public urinal and an open garbage bin right next to the petitioner's house clearly violates his right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution, which includes the right to live with dignity in a clean and healthy environment," the court said in an order passed on February 16.

The court said it empathised with the petitioner as well as other residents as the pictures clearly demonstrated the existing state of affairs in the area.

The court added that presence of a public urinal as well as an open garbage bin would result in stench in the surrounding areas, leaving the residents to live in such a deplorable condition.

The court directed the MCD to arrange a proper covered dustbin for dry and wet waste and keep it at a distance from the petitioner's property.