Date:11/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/11/stories/2008091153570400.htm

New Delhi

Court puts new system in place to monitor demolitions

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered deactivation of the Monitoring Committee and the Court Commissioner mechanism for detection and demolition of unauthorised constructions in the city for six months and put in place a new system to take care of the task.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Manmohan passed the order on a petition by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi challenging the old mechanism devised by the Court following what it (Court) called failure of the civic body in implementing its orders regarding demolition of unauthorised constructions.

The Court had earlier asked the civic body to suggest an alternative mechanism to the Monitoring Committee to monitor identification and demolition of illegal constructions.

The local body had challenged the Court-devised mechanism on the ground that it was an encroachment on its statutory powers.

To be assessed

The Bench said that it would assess the performance of the new system for six months and then decide whether to continue it or reactivate the old mechanism.

The Bench said a nodal steering committee was to be set up to monitor and supervise demolition of unauthorised constructions. Additional Commissioner (Engineering), Chief Vigilance Officer and Chief Town Planner of the MCD would be members of the committee.

The Committee would monitor overall working of the municipal zones.

It would meet at least once every month and review the functioning of the zonal staff, the Bench said.

Senior MCD officers like Additional Commissioners and their equivalents would be directly responsible to this Court for enforcing and implementation of law in a timely and effective manner by their staff members as per the duties assigned to them under the law and otherwise, the Bench said.

The detection of unauthorised constructions at the initial level shall be carried out by Junior Engineers and Assistant Engineers of the zones concerned under the supervision of Executive Engineers, the order said.

The Court also directed the local body to create a centralised and zone-wise complaint cells with telephone facility on the lines of police control room’s emergency telephone number.

It fixed deadlines of 24 hours for sending a complaint received at the centralised cell to the zonal office concerned and one week for taking action thereafter.