New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Delhi government and the police for not acting on their own action plan to decongest traffic in the national capital, saying that they have taken up only five of the 77 sites identified by the Task Force where decongestion drive was required.
The action plan for easing traffic in Delhi was submitted to the top court last year and was prepared by a Task Force comprising representatives of the Delhi government and the of Delhi Police. Describing the statement by the lawyer Wasim Qadri, appearing for both the Centre and Delhi government, as "bald", a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta said, "You are not following your own plans."
Advocate Aparajita Singh, who is assisting the court as amicus curiae in the matter, said that the authorities have to explain as to why only five spots have been selected so far for the decongestion project.
The Task Force had identified 77 sites to decongest traffic in the national capital but the government acted only on five VIP zones in the NDMC area, including Dhaula Kuan, Sardar Patel Marg, Giayarah Murti (11 Murti) and Pachsheel Marg.
Taking a dim view of the way the government and the police were acting on their own plan, Justice Gupta said there was no planning. There would be battery rickshaws and three-wheelers at the metro stations. Observing that there was a scientific diversion of traffic whereby certain roads are made one way, the court observed: "You will remove them (encroachments) today and tomorrow they will come back." The court observed that the bus stops were not properly located, and at some places they were close to traffic signal lights. Having stated its reservation over the manner in which action plan to decongest the traffic in the national capital was being implemented, the court clubbed the hearing of the matter with that of the Comprehensive Action Plan to deal with the alarming level of air-pollution.
The apex court was hearing some applications filed in a 1985 PIL by environmentalist M C Mehta who had raised the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR.