The AAP government on Wednesday was caught on the wrong foot in the Delhi High Court when it submitted that the Kushak nullah was not a river and was therefore, good as it is, even as the judges were presented with photographs of tonnes of debris, waste and silt choking it.
Giving Delhi government three weeks time to clean the drain, the bench headed by Justice B.D. Ahmed stressed on how even a drain should be not this filthy while the counsel for the Delhi government Peeyosh Kalra debated, “Do they (New Delhi South Extension RWA) want the nullah to be a river?”
“There is no blockage. If they want, we will dig up the entire nullah even though it is a wastage of resources,” said Mr. Kalra.“The PWD Executive Engineer is directed to ensure that all construction debris in the drain be removed. This process should be completed within three weeks,” the bench ordered.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by Manjeet Singh Chugh, vice-president of the New Delhi South Extension RWA, contending that the PWD had failed to clean the six-km long drain that takes the waste of Mehrauli, Sangam Vihar, INA, Defence Colony, Greater Kailash, AIIMS and nearby areas.
Local commissioner advocate Gurneet Kaur also told the court that on a personal visit she found the nallah to be in a bad state.
