Set up night shelters where required: HC to govt

A bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw allowed an NGO's plea that the shelters are far from their workplaces and they should be set up closer to their work places so that they can use them during winter.

"The night shelters should be need based," the bench said while hearing city government's Standing Counsel Najmi Waziri's argument that a total of 150 shelters, including 64 permanent ones, have been set up as per the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021.

According to MPD, one shelter is required to be set up for five lakh people in the city and the arrangements have to be made but some of the shelters have not been adequately occupied.

The court also asked the government to pay DDA the cost of land alloted by it to set up permanent shelters and asked civic bodies to find out if buildings lying vacant could be converted into night shelters temporarily.

NGO Shahri Adhikar Manch Begharon Ke Liye had earlier alleged the authorities have failed to provide even basic amenities for the poor and the shelters are not fit for living in as even the toilets of these night shelters are not working and they are "stinking."

In December 2010, the court had taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about demolition of a night shelter set up by the NGO and civic bodies and doing nothing to protect the homeless from the biting cold.