The Delhi High Court recently issued notice to the India International Convention and Exhibition Centre Ltd, as well as Larsen and Toubro Ltd, and directed them to take urgent steps to repair the road leading to New Era Public School in Dwarka, which was allegedly damaged by the development of the Exhibition-Cum-Convention Centre, carried out by the said parties.
The Single-Judge Bench of Justice Rekha Palli on August 27 also issued notices to the Union of India, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Public Works Department, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd and the Delhi Development Authority.
“It is expected that by the next date of hearing, which is September 24, the respondent responsible for the maintenance of road adjacent to New Era Public School, Dwarka, will endeavour to take corrective action, so as to make the road usable,” observed the High Court.
The Bench was hearing a petition filed by New Era Public School, Sector 24, Dwarka, seeking directions to the India International Convention and Exhibition Centre Ltd and Larsen and Tuobro Ltd, to undertake repair work on the road adjacent to the petitioner school, which has been damaged by rough use of the respondents.
HC directs appropriate authority to take urgent action, so that the road is made useable at the earliest
The petitioners are New Era Public School, Sector 24, Dwarka. According to the petition, the location of the said school was selected as the area was clean and unpolluted, owing to the remoteness from the metropolitan city.
The petition averred that in 2017, India International Convention and Exhibition Centre Ltd awarded a contract to Larsen and Tuobro Ltd. For design, engineering and construction of a Convention Centre, at an estimated cost of Rs 25703 crore. The plea further alleged that the aforementioned Convention Centre is approximately three kilometres from the Petitioner school building.
According to the petition, the location of the Convention Centre is accessible through a six hundred metre long and about twenty feet wide road, the said road is adjacent to and in front of the primary gate for New Era Public School and is necessary for ingress and egress to the school premises.
The petition claimed that Larsen and Turbo Ltd had been overusing the road on a regular basis, to transport a wide range of construction material, heavy machinery, earth moving equipment, construction workers, etc. Further, the construction workers employed by Larsen and Toubro Ltd openly urinated alongside the Road, leading to the menace of foul smell and unhygienic surroundings.
It was also stated in the plea that around June, 2018, the aforementioned road developed numerous bumps and craters as a direct consequence of the overuse of road by Larsen and Toubro Ltd, leaving the said road badly damaged and unusable. As a result of damage caused to the road, the students and staff of New Era Public School found it difficult to access the school.
India International Convention and Exhibition Centre Ltd, being built at an estimated cost of Rs 25703 crore, has caused damage to the road adjacent to New Era Public School
The petitioner submitted that on July 16, 2018, the Principal of New Era Public School wrote a letter to the Project Manager of Larsen and Toubro Ltd, requesting them to repair the road. Subsequently, the company excavated the area alongside the road and dumped the soil on the road, rendering the road unsafe for students, staff and the general public. This prompted the Principal of New Era Public School to write another letter to the Project Manager that again went unanswered.
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The petition further submitted that certain members of New Era Public School’s staff met with accidents while trying to traverse the potholes and suffered injuries. Another point mentioned in the petition was that the potholes were filled with water during rainy season and became a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Subsequently, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started using the road to move heavy construction material and labour for the construction of a nearby metro station. The petitioner school held a meeting with a representative of DMRC, Sanjay Goel, who acknowledged the danger to safety and well-being of students of the petitioner school and further assured that the road will be repaired immediately, but the state of the road has further worsened, leaving the students and staff of New Era Public School aggrieved, contended the plea, filed by Advocate Shashwat Jindal and argued by Advocate Abhijat.
Read order below:
New-Era-Order