Heads must roll: Delhi High Court to MCDs on lack of cleanliness

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday told the three municipal corporations in the city to take disciplinary action against its officials for not ensuring cleanliness in their respective areas of the national capital.

"Heads must roll," a bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said after seeing videos submitted by a media house of garbage accumulated in several parts of the city.

The court had earlier noted that lack of waste disposal was contributing to spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya and had directed the corporations to ensure garbage removal and cleanliness in the city.

It today told the corporations to file an affidavit before June 27 indicating action, including disciplinary proceedings, taken by it for the acts and omissions by its officials.

"First put your house in order," the court said.

The affidavit shall also contain steps proposed to be taken by the corporations to implement an action plan framed by the Ministry of Health, the bench said.

The court was also "extremely upset and pained" over the lack of cleanliness in the city, not providing of proper equipment to the municipal workers and the "false status reports" filed by the corporations which had claimed that regular cleaning of all the areas was being undertaken.

The court was hearing two PILs filed by lawyers, Arpit Bhargava and Gauri Grover, seeking directions to the corporations to prevent spread of vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya.