Comply with order or face the music: NGT

<g data-gr-id="48">Lambasting</g> civic bodies for not cleaning drains in the national Capital, National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday warned Delhi Chief Secretary and the senior-most civic officials of coercive action like attachment of salary if they do not comply with its order on the matter.

A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, pulled up all the civic bodies of Delhi after they failed to show a single drain cleaned by them in compliance with the green panel’s May 8 order. “Everybody cooks up a story and tells us something, you don’t have respect for <g data-gr-id="38">law</g>. If you have not done any work, you should have the courage to accept it”, the bench said and gave the “last opportunity” to their officials to implement them.

“We make it clear that the senior-most authority of department concerned and Chief Secretary of Delhi will be personally responsible, besides bearing cost for <g data-gr-id="45">non</g>- compliance of the order in accordance with the direction of the court which would include attachment of salary and coercive action,” the bench said. 

The NGT said “with <g data-gr-id="42">utmost</g> sense of regret ... none of the parties including various departments and Government of NCT <g data-gr-id="41">have</g> complied with any of the May 8 directions”. The Tribunal said that even Haryana government has not complied with its direction for <g data-gr-id="40">establishment</g> of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Gurgaon border where the drain from Haryana joins with the Najafgarh drain in Delhi.

The Tribunal said that none of the Municipal Corporations of Delhi except for New Delhi Municipal Council has been able to show a drain which they have cleaned or dredged in compliance with the order. Neither have they shown that they <g data-gr-id="35">fined</g> any person Rs 5000 for throwing or dumping municipal waste in the drains.

“However, on the joint request from all the parties, one last opportunity is being given in the interest of justice and in interest of larger public interest to comply with the order,” the Tribunal said while posting the matter for June 8.

The green panel also asked the revenue department to transfer land to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in different areas and asked the police to assist DJB in taking their possession.

On May 8, the Tribunal had restrained individuals, including the municipal corporation employees, from throwing or dumping any kind of waste into the drains in Delhi and ordered a fine of Rs 5,000 for violating these directions.

It had directed all municipal corporations to clean all the drains of any municipal or other waste. The green panel had directed the corporations and public authorities to take immediate action in accordance with law and ensure that no illegal, unauthorized washing, slaughtering or running of dairies is permitted on the banks of the drains.