ABP News impact: HC raps MCDs, issues notice to commissioners on garbage removal

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notices to the commissioners of all three municipal corporations to show cause why contempt action be not taken against them for failing to ensure cleanliness in the national capital. The order came after ABP News aired a report on garbage overflowing on to roads stretching for miles. The Court in the courtroom played for second time ABP News' report on garbade in the national capital in the presence of more than 30 officials of all three MCDs. The court flayed MCD and its lawyers over poor waste management system. The Court said that both the report show how its order were openly violated and general public were left in lurch. In its order, the Court said that MCD should provide good cleaning equipments to its employees and asked the officials to appear before it during next hearing. The Court asked MCD commissioners in which area do they live and how come they are unaware of lapses in garbage disposal in Delhi. The order was passed by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar which said there has been "wilful violation and disobedience" of court orders to collect and dispose of garbage. The Court had on Wednesday appointed an ABP news reporter Ankit Gupta as Local Commissioner to conduct inspections at random and place before the it the position of the garbage removal and disposal mechanism in Delhi. "We appoint Mr. Ankit Gupta, reporter with ABP News Channel as a Local Commissioner in this matter.." "The Local Commissioner and his team is directed to conduct inspection and place before us, in soft format, the position regarding the garbage removal and disposal in anywhere in Delhi which includes the South Delhi Municipal Corporation; the North Delhi Municipal Corporation; the East Delhi Municipal Corporation; the Delhi Cantonment Board and the New Delhi Municipal Council," the Court had said in an order. The Court had observed, “It is obvious that this court was misled with regard to the action being taken by all the statutory authorities regarding discharge of their statutory functioning. Inasmuch as the issue involves public health, such conduct is completely unpardonable. "Giving that the several judicial orders passed on every aspect of the matter have fallen on deaf ears and have not been complied with, action under the Contempt of Court Act is certainly invited," it said. ABP News in 'Ghanti Bajao' --which is aired from Monday to Friday at 10:00 pm-- had highlighted several lapses in the manner with MCD was dealing with the removal of garbage. ABP News showed how EDMC failed to collect garbage from an locality days after it was left there as an experiment by its TV reporter.