The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) Director and representatives of a non-government organisation to visit the proposed places in the Capital for putting up night shelters and submit a joint report. The direction came in an ongoing case taken up by the Court on its own, following an allegation levelled by the NGO, Shahri Adhikar Manch Begharon Ke Liye, that the urban agency was not willing to put up even temporary homes at the sites proposed by it.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw said the visit would enable both the parties to take a stand with the knowledge of each other and added that it would hear the matter on January 14. The Court also sought a response from the Railways which had earlier opposed the use of railway stations as night shelters.
The NGO handed over to the Bench a list of proposed places for establishing night shelters and claimed that several lives were lost during this winter because of the authorities not taking action for upkeep of these facilities. NGO’s counsel Jayant Bhushan said the DUSIB had been provided with a list of places which needed night shelters on an urgent basis, but the agency had not built additional shelters.
