HC asks MCDs to streamline Safai Karamchari's work

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the three municipal corporations to streamline the duties of safai karamcharis to ensure regular removal of garbage from the city roads.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar suggested installing of biometric attendance system and use of instant messaging application like WhatsApp to ensure the presence of safai karamcharis for cleanliness in the area.

"There is a lacuna in assigning of the work to the safai karamcharis and their presence on the spot. Try and streamline a process through which those present at the site can send the picture of the area they have cleaned.," the bench said.

"You regulate their working hours, there will be visible difference in Delhi today and tomorrow," the bench said, adding that "because of your lack of will to work, people of Delhi cannot be made to suffer from malaria, dengue and chikungunya".

The bench made the observation while asking the MCDs that if they were ensuring proper work, why there is so much garbage seen on the city roads.

On this, the counsel for the corporations told the court that the people living in unauthorised colony threw garbage on the on roads which remained unclean.

The bench said for such problems, the authorities should have thought before regularising the unauthorised colonies. "You (Delhi government and MCDs) are lavishly regularising colonies. See what we have to face. Stop ruthless regularisation. Right to shelter for one cannot be inconvenience to other law-abiding citizens," the bench said.

It also asked the authorities to create an awareness programme and educate people of Delhi to overcome such a situation.

"We need to move ahead and undergo some education, like the Delhi State Legal Services Authority is already working on a project in this regard," the bench said.

It also asked the Delhi

government to inform it about the funds they have been paying to all the three corporations here for making payment to the safai karamcharis.

The court was hearing two pleas accusing the AAP government and the MCDs of not acting vigilantly and responsibly to control dengue and chikungunya outbreaks.

The issue of lack of solid waste disposal was taken up by the court after it was told that it contributes to breeding of mosquitoes .