Green panel summons top cop, civic body on April 23

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday directed the commissioners of Delhi police  and EDMC to be present before the green panel to submit the action taken report on the action taken in pursuance to NGT’s order dated March 22 apart from the detailed report.

The NGT rapped East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) over its report on a recent fire incident at the Ghazipur landfill site, saying it can’t allow non-compliance of its orders to solve the issue.

Irked, a bench headed by acting chairperson Justice Jawad Rahim Delhi summoned the Delhi police commissioner and the EDMC commissioner to appear before it on April 23. The green panel said except for stating that tenders have been floated, no statement was “forthcoming” from the EDMC about the actual and effective steps being taken to avert the instances of fire in terms of its earlier directions.

Noting that the EDMC lawyer’s submission that he did not have instructions from the municipal body and said, “as the situation is serious, we expected serious approach by the corporation which was lacking”.

“We cannot allow such non-compliance of the authorities concerned and avoid perishing of the life of the people, factual information about the steps taken or being taken is essential,” the bench said.

The NGT's direction came after advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, who has been appointed as amicus curiae in the matter, informed the bench that the police and the corporation have not filed the report despite its March 22 direction. The lawyer had earlier told the NGT that after a major fire on September 1 last year,  another fire had broken on March 18 at the andfill site and as per the NGT’s order in case of such incidents, appropriate action be taken against the authorities.