Ghazipur drain deaths: Delhi High Court threatens to suspend MCD officials if they do not act

In the wake of the deaths of a woman and her son in Ghazipur, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday warned that it would start suspending Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials if the civic body fails to carry out its duties..A Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela pulled up the MCD and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for failing to cover or barricade the drains in Delhi's Ghazipur area, which led to the deaths.After interacting with the MCD Deputy Commissioner responsible for the area, the Bench remarked that it would ask the government to dissolve the Corporation. It added that the civic authorities must be booked for criminal negligence.“It [MCD] has become a cozy club where you go, have a cup of tea, and come back. I can guarantee you that if this man [Deputy Commissioner present in Court] doesn’t come to office, it will make no difference to the ground situations. I think it is a fit case where we will recommend to the government that MCD needs to be dissolved...This is how things are working in Delhi? There is no date for cabinet meeting, no date for standing committee meeting. How will the budget get sanctioned if the cabinet and standing committee meeting is not happening? It’s like saying cases will be decided without us [the Court] sitting,” the Court said. .The Court ultimately ordered the MCD to clear the area and build barricades so that the open drains become inaccessible. Delhi Police and DDA have also been ordered to file status reports in the matter.The Bench said it will not adjudicate as to whether the area where the deaths happened falls under the jurisdiction of the MCD or the DDA, since it is a matter of police investigation.However, the Court added that the offence of criminal negligence must be added against erring officials. .The Bench was dealing with a plea filed by one Jhunnu Lal Srivastava seeking action against the officials of DDA and MCD for failing to cover the drain in which the woman and her son fell and drowned. As per reports, a 22-year-old woman named Tanuja and her 3-year-old son Priyansh lost their lives after falling into the drain.After the incident, the Delhi government blamed the DDA and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) for their failure to maintain the drain, while the LG and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have said that it was the responsibility of the MCD, which is controlled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government..The Delhi Police told the Court today that the victims fell in the drain due to water-logging and their bodies were discovered nearly 150m downstream.The Court also expressed its displeasure with the police probe into the case, observing that the police has merely been sending notices to the civic authorities and no concrete action has been taken to seize the files or question the officials.