Remove rubble immediately from your land: HC to DDA

Delhi High Court today directed DDA to ensure "immediate removal" of construction material dumped on the authority's vacant lands in Dwarka, saying this was a major cause of air pollution in the national capital.
A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva also directed Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to ensure that people do not dump rubble or 'malba' on its lands at night and suggested putting in place guards or CCTV cameras to curb such practice and identify the guilty.
"It is your land, you take care of it. Post guards or set up CCTV cameras. Do you know that rubble is a major cause of air pollution? Take immediate action to remove rubble and ensure there is no dumping of 'malba' (construction material)," the court directed the DDA.

The court also noted that there was some improvement in the work done by South Delhi municipal corporation (SDMC) to keep the surroundings of 'dhalaos' (garbage dumps) clean as well as in clearing of rubbish, but said the steps taken were not "fully satisfactory".
SDMC assured the court that it would work harder to ensure cleanliness in Dwarka sub-city and that disciplinary action would be taken against those who do not perform.
The court also suggested to SDMC to clean the dhalaos thrice a day if they were only doing it twice a day, to which the corporation said it lacks the manpower to do so, especially now when most of its workers were on strike.

The bench, thereafter, listed the matter for further hearing on February 24.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by law students Ebbani Aggarwal and Gaurav, both Dwarka residents, on the issue of lack of cleanliness in the sub-city.
During the brief hearing, DDA told the court that the construction material was being dumped unauthorisedly and surreptitiously by local residents at night. It said it was removing the rubble as and when it came across such dumping.
SDMC said it had detected construction material at 33 DDA sites in Dwarka and informed the DDA's chief engineer.