Gurugram Marketed As 'Millennium City', Govt Must Ensure Cleanliness: High Court Slaps ₹50K Cost On Municipal Corp For Filling Irrelevant Data
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has raised serious concerns over piling of huge garbage dump in Gurugram “marketed as a millennium city” by the Haryana Government.
The Court was hearing a plea on the issue of garbage dumping in Gurugram, hence status on lifting of dump was sought.
While noting that the Municipal Corporation made an attempt to confuse the Court by filing irrelevant data, it imposed a cost of Rs.50,000 on the body.
Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj said, “This Court does not see this petition as an adversarial litigation and considers it as a human problem. While Gurugram is being marketed as a millennium city showcasing the strides in development and growth made by the State of Haryana, It is necessary that the State agencies and Civil agencies gear up for the challenges of urbanization and ensure that the city remains clean. The claims as raised thus need to be verified but before such verification, this Court deems it appropriate that an appropriate time be also granted to the respondents to take adequate and appropriate steps for removal of the garbage.”
The Court highlighted that, there had been a jugglery of statistics given by the Joint Commissioner and the Municipal Corporation only to “pat their own back about the purported works undertaken by them towards timely removal of the garbage and solid waste generated in the city through different agencies.”
“In the vehicle summary furnished by the respondent-MCG, they have laid stress on the available manpower as well as machinery for handling of the garbage/solid waste which includes nearly 470 vehicles alongwith the registration numbers thereof as well as the names of the employees who are working on the said vehicles,” it added.
The Court was hearing a civil writ petition highlighting the non-removal of garbage scattered over the entire Gurugram city thus exposing the residents to an aggravated danger of multiple diseases.
A status of cleanliness and lifting of garbage in the city was sought by the Court from the Joint Commissioner and Municipal Corporation.
In response to the same, the Court noted that notwithstanding that the specific information had been sought about total quantity of monthly per capita trash including residential, business and institutional waste being generated alongwith monthly construction and demolition garbage, biological waste etc., “the respondents have chosen to furnish unnecessary data without addressing the issues posed to it, primarily with an intent of burdening the Court record with useless paper work rather than to discharge the responsibility required of them.”
“Time was granted to the respondents to ensure expeditious actions required to be undertaken than to file unnecessary papers to burden the Court record, however, nothing seemed to have made any impact on the respondent-MCG,” it added.
Justice Bhardwaj opined that, “the law enjoins upon the civil bodies to ensure that the garbage does not remain piled up on streets and that the sanitation and hygiene is duly maintained. It is a matter of routine that people have been hurt by the stray animals that gather around the unduly scattered garbage.”
In the light of the above, the Court appointed nine advocates as Local Commissioner to visit the specific areas mentioned and to submit a report about the garbage collection and dump in different localities of Municipal Corporation, Gurugram and whether such removal of garbage is being regularly, expeditiously and efficiently being done or not.
The matter is listed for February 17, for further consideration.
Title: Pankaj Yadav v. State of Haryana & Ors.
Petitioner appeared in person.
Mr. Suneel Ranga, DAG, Haryana.
Mr. Vivek Saini, Advocate for respondent No.2/M.C. Gurugram.
Title: Pankaj Yadav v. State of Haryana & Ors.