News Analysis India

Tag: DDA

  • Delhi sewer death: HC directs DDA to pay Rs 10 lakh to families of two sanitation workers

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to pay Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the family of two persons who died after inhaling toxic gases inside a sewer here last month.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma remarked that it was unfortunate that even after 75 years of Independence, the poor were forced to work as manual scavengers and asked the DDA, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, to pay the compensation, as mandated under the law, forthwith.

    The bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad added that the DDA shall also consider granting compassionate appointment to the family of the deceased persons and sought the presence of the vice chairman of the authority in case the order is not complied with till the next date of hearing.

    The order was passed on public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by the court on its own based on a news report of the incident.

    A sweeper and a security guard died on September 9 in Outer Delhi’s Mundka area after they inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer.

    When the sweeper had gone down to clean the sewer, he fainted and the guard followed to rescue him and he also fell unconscious, the police had said.

    “It is unfortunate that even after 75 years of Independence, poor people are forced to work as manual scavengers and the (laws on the issue) are not being followed,” said the court.

    “As the DDA has prima facie resolved to pay compensation, keeping in view the judgement of the Supreme Court, the DDA is directed to pay Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the family of the two deceased and also to consider their claim to grant compassionate appointment in terms of the Supreme Court judgement and statutory provisions,” the order ordered.

    “The decision shall be communicated to the court in 30 days. It is made clear that if the order is not complied with, vice chairman of DDA shall remain present in court on the next date of hearing,” it added.

    The counsel appearing for the DDA informed the court that the deceased was cleaning the drain in the absence of any instructions from them and a committee has been formed in relation to the incident.

    It was added that “not a single DDA official recommended” the deceased to clean the sewer and the work was outsourced.

    Asking the DDA to pay the compensation “at the first instance” as per the law and not form “committee after committee”, the court observed that responsibility can be decided at a later stage and the authorities were free to take other legal action.

    “At the first instance you have to pay. We will decide responsibility later on. Give a job. It happened under your jurisdiction. Take action, file FIR. You know the law,” the court said.

    Amicus Curiae Rajshekhar Rao said there was a “lack of apathy” on part of the authorities who were making an “attempt to distance responsibility”. He said the “fact is that the staff was DDA’s” and the DDA, was “clearly in the know”.

    On the last date of hearing, Delhi government counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi had said that an FIR has already been registered concerning the incident and the executing agency should be made liable.

    Earlier, the court was informed by the counsel for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) that the area where the incident took place was under DDA and even the sweeper was an employee of DDA.

    On September 12, the high court had taken suo motu cognisance of the death of the two persons based on a news report and directed that a PIL be registered on the issue. The matter would be heard next on November 14.

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to pay Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the family of two persons who died after inhaling toxic gases inside a sewer here last month.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma remarked that it was unfortunate that even after 75 years of Independence, the poor were forced to work as manual scavengers and asked the DDA, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, to pay the compensation, as mandated under the law, forthwith.

    The bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad added that the DDA shall also consider granting compassionate appointment to the family of the deceased persons and sought the presence of the vice chairman of the authority in case the order is not complied with till the next date of hearing.

    The order was passed on public interest litigation (PIL) initiated by the court on its own based on a news report of the incident.

    A sweeper and a security guard died on September 9 in Outer Delhi’s Mundka area after they inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer.

    When the sweeper had gone down to clean the sewer, he fainted and the guard followed to rescue him and he also fell unconscious, the police had said.

    “It is unfortunate that even after 75 years of Independence, poor people are forced to work as manual scavengers and the (laws on the issue) are not being followed,” said the court.

    “As the DDA has prima facie resolved to pay compensation, keeping in view the judgement of the Supreme Court, the DDA is directed to pay Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to the family of the two deceased and also to consider their claim to grant compassionate appointment in terms of the Supreme Court judgement and statutory provisions,” the order ordered.

    “The decision shall be communicated to the court in 30 days. It is made clear that if the order is not complied with, vice chairman of DDA shall remain present in court on the next date of hearing,” it added.

    The counsel appearing for the DDA informed the court that the deceased was cleaning the drain in the absence of any instructions from them and a committee has been formed in relation to the incident.

    It was added that “not a single DDA official recommended” the deceased to clean the sewer and the work was outsourced.

    Asking the DDA to pay the compensation “at the first instance” as per the law and not form “committee after committee”, the court observed that responsibility can be decided at a later stage and the authorities were free to take other legal action.

    “At the first instance you have to pay. We will decide responsibility later on. Give a job. It happened under your jurisdiction. Take action, file FIR. You know the law,” the court said.

    Amicus Curiae Rajshekhar Rao said there was a “lack of apathy” on part of the authorities who were making an “attempt to distance responsibility”. He said the “fact is that the staff was DDA’s” and the DDA, was “clearly in the know”.

    On the last date of hearing, Delhi government counsel Santosh Kumar Tripathi had said that an FIR has already been registered concerning the incident and the executing agency should be made liable.

    Earlier, the court was informed by the counsel for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) that the area where the incident took place was under DDA and even the sweeper was an employee of DDA.

    On September 12, the high court had taken suo motu cognisance of the death of the two persons based on a news report and directed that a PIL be registered on the issue. The matter would be heard next on November 14.

  • Delhi HC seeks Centre, DDA’s response on plea challenging clause of regulations for development of privately owned lands

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked the Centre, DDA and others to respond to a petition challenging a clause of Regulations for enabling the planned development of privately owned lands.

    Issuing notice to Centre, DDA and East Delhi Municipal Corporation, a Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh listed the matter for further hearing on October 12.

    Petitioner Rajkumar through advocates Deepanshu Choithani and Madhuri Khubwani sought to quash clause no. 3.3 of the “Regulations for enabling the planned Development of Privately Owned Lands” – published in the official gazette vide notification dated July 4, 2018, by the Delhi Development Authority, vide which regularisation of the existing structure on the un-acquired privately owned land is denied to the owners.

    The petitioner said that the clause is discriminatory, arbitrary and violates the fundamental rights of the Constitution.

    The petitioner further said that the clause is in the nature of putting a restraint on the overall development of Delhi as it denies the regularisation of the existing structure on the privately-owned un-acquired land despite being in accordance with unified building bye-laws and the master plan of Delhi.

    “Pass/issue necessary Order(s), Writ(s) or direction(s) thereby quashing clause 3.3 of the “Regulations for enabling the planned Development of Privately Owned Lands”- published in the Official Gazette vide notification dated 04.07.2018 by the Delhi Development Authority being ultra vires of the building bye-laws, Master Plan of Delhi and Article 14, Article 19, Article 21, 300A of Constitution of India, ” read the petition.

    “That the impugned clause 3.3 is also violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India as it discriminates between the owners of the land who does not have any structure on their land and the owners who have built something on their land. Meaning thereby it suggests that plan cannot be sanction if the already built structure is in accordance with UBBL and MPD but it can be sanctioned if the landowner demolishes that already built structure,” the petitioner said.

    “And furthermore, the impugned clause is also violative of Article-19, 21 and 300A of Constitution of India,” the petitioner said.

    The petitioner said that he is being aggrieved at the hands of the respondents as he is being deprived of the enjoyment of his owned property because respondents are neither acquiring the land of the petitioner nor they are sanctioning/regularising the structure on the petitioner’s land.

    With the approval from the Centre, DDA, on July 4, 2018, notified “Regulations for enabling the planned Development of Privately Owned Lands.”

    The petitioner told the court that the application moved by the petitioner before the respondent East Delhi Municipal Corporation for incorporation of his land in the layout plan and further for regularisation was rejected on the ground that clause 3.3 of the subject regulation does not apply to the regularisation of the already existing structure.