Date:30/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/30/stories/2008103059180300.htm

New Delhi

NDMC slammed for lapses

New Delhi: A court here has slammed the New Delhi Municipal Corporation for its “lapses” which allowed a man to illegally occupy a government flat for 21 years and inflicting a loss of Rs.3.97 crore to the civic body.

It blamed the civic agency for the loss and directed Chairman NDMC to hold an inquiry to fix the responsibility among the officials for the lapses.

“The manner in which the arrears are allowed to accumulate to the tune of Rs.3.97 crore is highly deplorable and is indicative of a rot which has apparently set in, in the working of the NDMC,” Additional District Judge Surinder S Rathi said.

“This is high time that NDMC including Chairman and their legal head should look into this aspect and shall take some remedial steps so that unauthorised occupants are not allowed to thrive and prey upon the public money and state’s exchequer at the cost of tax-payers’ hard earned money,” the court said.

It took NDMC a 17-year-long legal battle, involving 120 hearing, to win a favourable court verdict against A K Sabharwal, who allegedly used all possible tactics to delay the matter.

The court dismissed a petition filed by Sabharwal, who allegedly did not pay any money to the NDMC. - PTI