The Hindu 08.01.2010
MCD admonished by court; told to restore night shelter
Staff Reporter
| Shelter demolished for ‘beautification’ ahead of C’wealth Games |
MCD pulled up for not making alternative arrangements before razing the shelter
Ten days after the demolition, a 35-year-old balloon seller died due to cold
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to immediately restore the temporary night shelter on Pusa Road in Central Delhi.
The civic body had demolished the shelter on December 22 ostensibly for “beautifying” the space in view of the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice A. P. Shah and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the civic body to restore the shelter for 15 days.
It asked the Delhi Legal Services Authority to inspect the shelter and file a report to the Court by January 13.
Earlier, Assistant Commissioner of the MCD Karol Bagh Zone appeared before the Court and assured it that the shelter would be restored.
Taking suo motu note of the demolition of the shelter, the Bench had on Wednesday pulled up the civic body for not making alternative arrangements before razing it.
Ten days after the demolition, a 35-year-old balloon seller had died due to cold.
“You are doing it in the name of the Commonwealth Games. Is it beatification? You have made them sleep under the open sky in winter. You can’t run away from your responsibility towards the public at large,” the Bench had observed in a scathing indictment of the civic body.
The Bench had also summoned the Assistant Commissioner to explain the action.
Besides explaining the demolition on the ground of beautification, the civic body claimed that the shelter was an encroachment causing unsanitary conditions and posing a traffic hazard in the area.
