‘Courts being used as pawns’: Delhi High Court raps MCD over encroachments

Last week, record rain brought the city to its knees as roads were flooded and water entered homes and offices due to drainage issues.

On Thursday, asking the Commissioner to take strict action against erring officials, the bench orally remarked, “Your officials have no idea. How can illegal construction take place like this? How can they turn their backs at it? We are being used as pawns in this process. You will have to take some drastic action…The MCD has not taken action against its own officials. It can’t be that without their (officials) involvement that unauthorised construction comes up.”

The bench further orally said that “one round once a week” by the officials will help the corporation keep track of the unauthorised construction taking place in the city. “You will have to break this nexus,” the bench said to Kumar.

In response to the High Court’s concerns, Kumar assured a strict action. He further said that officials of the corporation “will be sensitised”, and a “strong message” will be sent out that such activities are “not going to be tolerated”.

The High Court was hearing a 20–year–old woman’s plea seeking directions for stopping and demolishing an alleged illegal and unauthorised construction being carried out on a plot in the Paharganj area.

During the hearing, Kumar was also told by the bench that in certain cases, “motivated petitions” are being filed, which cannot be ignored as the issue of unauthorised constructions is not in dispute. “There are people collecting money through this entire process. Our process is collapsing,” the bench said.

In the previous hearing, the MCD’s counsel had said that the plea was “motivated”.

“This Court is further of the prima facie view that it is being used as a ‘strategic tool’ by both the petitioner and the officials of MCD for their ulterior purposes,” the bench had said in its July 1 order. It had thereafter asked the MCD Commissioner to appear in the matter virtually on Thursday.