New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has directed the Religious Structure Committee and the city government to expeditiously take a decision on the removal of religious structure encroachments in various parks in Rohini area of the capital.
The court also directed the deputy director of horticulture of Rohini area in west Delhi and the deputy commissioner of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to be personally present in court on the next date of hearing, Feb 10, 2015.
Justice Manmohan asked the Religious Structure Committee and the government to decide within 12 weeks on the removal of religious structures after the court was informed that 29 of 94 parks have been encroached upon by various religious structures.
The court’s direction came on a plea filed by Raja Ram, a resident of Sultanpuri in Rohini, seeking improvement and maintenance of 94 parks there.
The plea filed through advocate Shiv Charan Garg also sought direction to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to ensure greenery in parks and hold departmental inquiry against erring officials.
Garg told the court that parks were in a bad condition and stray cattle were wandering there without any hindrance.
The court also directed the government to prepare a layout plan of all the 94 parks in Sultanpuri clearly indicating whether the entry to the parks was through a wicket gate and whether the entrance for services has a facility for lock and key.
“Walking track, if any, in the parks should also be indicated. Whether the parks have provision for lighting and water harvesting should also be mentioned,” the court said.
Apprising the court about the broken walls in parks, advocate Garg said: “Public land is being used for keeping goods like tables, rickshaws and upalas of cow dung.”
He said that due to accumulation of garbage and bad smell, residents of the locality cannot visit the parks.
The plea asked the court to modify the conditions of the parks as well as the roads of Sultanpuri.
It said the petitioner had also moved a Right to Information (RTI) application for modification in the conditions of the parks. However, no proper action has been taken in this regard.
“Twenty three employees have been deputed by the MCD in the horticulture department for maintaining the parks, and further there are 183 sweepers in ward no.39 of Sultanpuri as per the municipal records of the area.
“However, still there is such a serious condition of the parks as well as the roads of the area… even the roads have been made a place of public garbage and there is no cleansing of the garbage. And as such, the conditions of the parks as well as the roads of the area have become worst,” the plea said.
It said the parks were to be maintained for the purpose of ecological balance and also to improve the environment of the area. However, the condition of the parks has become harmful for the residents of the area.
It further said the stray cattle, mosquitoes and the cow dung and other filth in the parks of Rohini were creating nuisance.