The National Green Tribunal on Monday imposed a cost of Rs. 5 lakh on the Railways and Rs. 1 lakh each on the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation after taking into account the human, animal and municipal waste scarring tracks in the city.
The orders were passed by a Bench disquieted by the description and photographs of the appalling conditions along the railway tracks, as presented before it by advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, who inspected the New Delhi- Sadar Bazar- Delhi Sabzi Mandi- Delhi Azad Pur- Adarsh Nagar stretch.
“We are satisfied that authorities concerned are at fault. If the Railway authorities have engaged contractors for cleaning of tracks and platforms, one fails to understand why the Railways failed to discharge even the supervisory function… There is a definite negligence on the part of all the authorities…If railway tracks within few kms of the national Capital cannot be kept clean, then it is really a sad state of affairs,” said a Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar.
The Bench also warned all the agencies saying: “We will burden you with Rs.1 lakh fine per day. We are of the view that taxpayers’ money should not be spent for default of the public servants.”
