Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 17 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the city government and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to consider providing basic amenities like water to original allottees of land in Sainik Farms and warned the civic agencies to stop the blame game with the residents.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B.Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta said, “You (civic agencies) cannot play this blame game with the people who are the original allottees of the land.”

“You can’t equate these residents with other people who are illegal owners of the Sainik Farm area,” the bench said, asking the DJB and the government to give a reply by March 23.

The court’s directive came on the allegation of ex-servicemen, who have been staying in Sainik Farms, that the DJB has failed to supply water to them for the past several years.

In a public interest petition, residents who claimed to have been allotted plots in Sainik Farms under the government’s rehabilitation scheme, said the DJB was not supplying water under the pretext that the colony was unauthorised.

They also alleged the government was not taking any decision on regularising the colony and their representations for setting up tube wells for boosting water supply had also been ignored.

The petitioners contended four sites had earlier been identified for tube wells but now the DJB says the government is not giving clearance for it.

The people who have been staying there illegally have been provided with tap water but the original allottees were being deprived of basic amenities, they contended.