On July 31st, the Delhi High Court harshly criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s “freebie culture” after a basement in the Rajendra Nagar district flooded, leading to the deaths of three civil service aspirants on July 27th.
The court ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), and the investigating officer to appear in court on August 2nd. Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela emphasized that the Delhi government lacks the funds to upgrade infrastructure, particularly the drainage system, due to its focus on providing freebies.
“You are allowing multi-storey buildings but there is no proper drainage. Your civic authorities are bankrupt. If you don’t have money to pay salaries, how will you upgrade infrastructure? You want a freebie culture. You’re not collecting any money, so you’re not spending any money,” ACJ Manmohan stated.
The ACJ further criticized the AAP government and the AAP-controlled MCD, noting that the MCD’s Standing Committee would approve any project over Rs 5 crore, yet no such committee exists. “Yesterday, one plan was said to need Cabinet approval. What’s the next date of the cabinet meeting? Nobody knows! You have to decide on this freebie culture.
There is a population of 3.3 crore people in this city whereas it was planned for 6-7 lakh people. How do you plan to accommodate so many people without upgrading infrastructure?” the ACJ remarked.
The court also pointed out that the investigation’s quality so far had been inadequate, with no MCD officers held accountable yet. “Who is the investigating officer? Some sort of strange investigation is going on. Unauthorized construction happens in collusion with the Police,” the court said.
The court named Delhi Police as a respondent in the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), demanding an action-taken report on the investigation. The HC bench stressed the importance of assigning responsibility, warning that a central agency might be tasked if this was not done.
The High Court was hearing a PIL filed by an organization named Kutumb, seeking a High-Level Committee to investigate the deaths of the three aspirants in the flooded basement at Rau’s IAS coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar. The PIL also requested district-level committees in each district of the national capital to examine and identify illegal commercial constructions.
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Additionally, the PIL asked the authorities to submit an action taken report as per directives issued by a coordinate bench regarding a fire incident at a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar. The petition demanded a commission to investigate and report on coaching institutes operating illegally and not following standard operating procedures.
On July 27th, 2024, three aspiring civil servants—Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Navin Dalwin from Kerala—lost their lives after heavy rain in Delhi caused the basement of a building housing a tutoring centre to flood. The tragic incident occurred at the library basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in the Old Rajendra Nagar area.
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