HC questions need of committees for govt to do its work

The Delhi High Court today questioned the need to set up "elaborate committees" for the government to do its work.
"Does the government need committees to do its work? Why do you need elaborate committees," was the query posed by a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and A K Chawla to the Delhi government.
The posers came after the lawyer for Delhi government, Naushad Ahmed Khan, told the bench that a committee has been set up to remove illegal speed-breakers from the city roads and it was looking into the issue.
The court, however, was of the view that it could turn into an "endless circle of committees, meetings and reports for a small task of removing illegal speed-breakers".

"When will it end," it asked the Delhi government lawyer as the issue regarding the illegal speed-breakers was raised in the high court in 2015.
It told the Delhi government that setting up a committee would not be considered as progress in the matter.

"There would be progress in the matter only if the illegal and unauthorised speed breakers are removed," the bench said.
It also asked the government lawyer to give a list of the illegal speed breakers on the city roads, saying the figure of 340 mentioned by him cannot be the correct number and it must be much more than that.

Khan, thereafter, told the court that he would get the complete data regarding all the speed breakers from all the agencies concerned only by January 23.
In view of the submission made by the Delhi government lawyer, the bench listed the matter for hearing on January 29.
The court was hearing two PILs filed by advocate Rajiv Singh and NGO, Guru Hanuman Society of India, claiming that the city's civic agencies, have allowed construction of speed breakers without complying with the guidelines of the Indian Road Congress and the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure Centre.
The court had in May and August 2016 directed the agencies maintaining roads in the national capital for removal of all speed breakers not approved by the traffic police and which do not conform to the prescribed norms.

Thereafter, it had told the traffic police that all speed breakers, both authorised and unauthorised, on Delhi roads must be geo-tagged and their location marked by GPS.
The authorities were also asked to ensure that signages regarding speed breakers and U-turns are put up in advance "to warn drivers" and "aid in reducing accidents".