Taking note of the virtually clogged drains in the national capital, the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to furnish the details and time needed to desilt the entire city.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan, while dealing with pleas of several Delhi residents, including lawyers, over the flooding of roads, homes and offices after rains due to clogged storm water and sewage drains, remarked that the national capital needed a new master plan to address such civic issues.
“These are virtually clogged drains. They can’t be desilted (overnight). Some have not been desilted in 40-50 years,” the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said.
“They have to rebuild the whole thing, develop a new master plan. We are totalling 3.3 crore (population),” added the bench.
The lawyers appearing for the aggrieved citizens alleged that drains in their area were not desilted before the onset of the monsoon season, and when the exercise was undertaken by the authorities in some areas, the sludge was left on the road, only to be carried back into the drain after fresh rainfall.