The civic agencies on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it cannot clean Dwarka if the residents do not have “civic sense”.
The DDA and the municipal corporation told a Bench headed by Justice B.D. Ahmed that it can only take remedial measures, but the cleanliness has to be maintained by the people.
“Unless and until unmindful dumping by residents stop, it can’t be clean,” said DDA during the hearing of a petition concerning waste disposal and management in Dwarka.
“Here drains will always look like drains. We will take many years to be like nations where drains have been converted into lakes,” said the counsel to which the Bench remarked, “We are nowhere near those nations.”
The counsel for the civic agencies said only the court can instil some kind of fear among the public against throwing garbage and debris on the road.
“We don't want them to have fear of this court. We want them to have love for this city. If you treat this city as your own, then only Delhi will be clean,” said the Bench.
The court has directed the DDA to make receptacles to avoid soiling from garbage in Dwarka and to keep it clean.
The DDA submitted that it is going to clean all areas under its jurisdiction within two weeks.
“We are informed that a part of the problem arises because residents of the area have no civic sense and throw garbage and rubble in public places. To ensure this does not happen, we are impleading the Delhi Police in the matter,” said the Bench. It also suggested that the DDA challan those throwing garbage on the road. Meanwhile, the court has sought report on how the blue drums placed around Dwarka for garbage collection will be cleaned from time to time.
The DDA and civic body said they can take measures, but cleanliness has to be maintained by people
