NDMC will seek permission to enter embassies

After spotting mosquito breeding sites in over 200 buildings falling under its jurisdiction in the national capital much ahead of the dengue season, the New Delhi Municipal Council is planning to approach embassies and foreign missions with request to provide access to its staff for inspecting their premises.

The precautionary measure has been taken as the civic body had last year found heavy breeding of mosquitoes in at least 12 embassies. The council staff inspects all buildings in its area every year to check mosquito-breeding. Notices are issued in the first phase and the defaulters are asked to reply within a week about the measures taken by them to check the problem. However, in the second phase of checking if mosquito breeding is still found in their premises, the NDMC issues challans to such violators.

As foreign diplomatic missions are not bound by law to allow civic officials to check mosquito breeding, the NDMC does not have any authority to issue any challan or notice to them. It can only help them with the remedial measures.

“We do not have the authority to issue any challan or notice to the embassies or foreign missions, but once we detect such conditions we send our staff to take all remedial measures there, including fumigation and destruction of larvae,” a senior NDMC official said.

According to the official, much ahead of the dengue season, the NDMC has already detected breeding in over 200 buildings in Delhi so far. “So, as a precautionary measure we have decided to approach embassies to allow access to our squads to check if there are any mosquitogenic conditions in their premises,” he added.

The NDMC areas are home to the high and mighty of the country, including Union ministers and parliamentarians, besides offices of all the ministries, Supreme Court, high court and residences of Supreme Court judges, senior bureaucrats and senior military officers.

The diplomatic complex in Chanakyapuri houses over 60 diplomatic missions, chanceries and residences of ambassadors. The civic body has so far issued notices to 225 prominent buildings in the NDMC areas, including R.M.L. Hospital, Paryavaran Bhawan, Meghdoot Bhawan, Sanchar Bhawan, Baroda House, Kashmir House and Shivaji Stadium, after vector-carrying mosquitoes were found breeding in their premises.