HC: Remove Encroachments Blocking Taimoor Nagar Drain

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the removal of structures blocking a drain in southeast Delhi and said it was a "shame" that people lived in such conditions in the national capital.
With monsoon expected by June, a special bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora said that it is important to remove blockages and clear the Taimoor Nagar drain to avoid "flooding" in the area. "It is a shame that we are living in Delhi in this condition. Monsoon is expected soon. Anything, including jhuggi jhopri clusters and colonies, which comes in the way of the free flow of water in the drain, will be removed. This drain has to be cleaned and laid within the next one month," the bench noted, directing a senior Delhi govt official to convene a meeting with all agencies concerned.
The court stressed that a colony along a drain could not be regularised while reviewing a topographical survey and alignment plan of the drain submitted by the chairperson of the special task force (STF). The bench found "substantial unauthorised encroachment" in the entire width of the drain owing to the "complete neglect" by the authorities, including the Delhi Development Authority, Delhi govt, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, and Delhi Jal Board.
The alignment of the drain, it said, was approved by the authorities and directed the STF to immediately start the work for the laying of the drain. "Any obstructions which come in the way of the construction of the drain, which is for the larger interest of all the inhabitants of the area, shall be removed... The free flow of the Taimoor Nagar drain is absolutely essential to avoid flooding in various colonies in the south Delhi area," it said.
It further directed the authorities to ensure that no colony is permitted to expand along the drain, noting that the functioning of this drain is absolutely essential for the movement of people and traffic in the entire area, which covers various residential colonies, hospitals, Ring Road, and other important areas of Delhi.
In its order, HC directed the additional chief secretary of the Delhi govt's Irrigation and Flood Control Department to hold a meeting with the authorities on April 23 for the removal of the obstructions and laying of the drain and posted the matter for further hearing on April 28.
Advocate Prabhsahay Kaur, representing the DDA, said the area where the Taimoor Nagar drain would have to be constructed fell in Zone O and in the Yamuna flood plain. The court was hearing suo-motu petitions on water-logging and rainwater harvesting besides traffic snarls in the capital during the monsoon season.