Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday pulled up the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for demolishing a temporary night shelter without providing alternative accommodation and said it was the civic body’s responsibility to protect people.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw asked the Assistant Commissioner of Karol Bagh Zone to personally appear along with the demolition order by Thursday.

“Commonwealth Games is after 10 months, so for city’s beautification, you (MCD) will throw out people in chilling winter like this?” the bench said.

“Is this the way you are planning the beautification drive in the capital?” the bench added asking the MCD to produce the concerned order for demolishing the temporary night shelter.

MCD counsel Sanjeev Sabharwal informed the court that under the MCD Act no prior notice needed to be given for removing encroachments.

“You cannot shun your responsibility. It’s your responsibility to protect these people,” the bench said asking the civic agency to explain as to why no arrangement was made to relocate these people before demolition.

The court was hearing a suo motu case on a newspaper report highlighting the plight of people rendered homeless after MCD demolished the structure.

The temporary night shelter at Pusa Road in the capital was removed by the MCD Dec 22 as part of the beautification drive for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. As the temperatures in the city dipped and a bone chilling cold set in, the move impacted the many homeless who used to take refuge in the shelter.

Delhi has 40 night shelters - 25 run by the MCD and 15 temporary structures run by the Delhi government - for roughly 100,000 homeless people.