Delhi High Court takes note of poor condition of road outside three schools in south Delhi

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Thursday took note of the dilapidated state of a road in front of two government and a municipal corporation school in Madanpur Khadar area in the national capital and said the condition is such that it can hardly be described as a road.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla also asked the authorities to ensure that the road is free from garbage and an action taken report be filed in this regard. The court issued notice to the Delhi government, South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and listed the matter for further hearing on April 18. During the hearing, the counsel for SDMC submitted that the corporation has cleared the garbage in last few days from the road.

However, as there was a dispute whether it is the responsibility of Delhi government or SDMC or DUSIB to maintain the road in question, the bench directed the authorities to file a response in this regard within 10 days. "In case any of the authorities accept its responsibility to clear the garbage on the road in question, we direct it to file an action taken report on removal of garbage," the bench said, adding, "you have to maintain garbage free area". After perusing the photographs placed on record by petitioner NGO, 'Social Jurist', the high court said "the condition of the road is such that it can hardly be described as a road".

The NGO, in its plea through advocates Ashok Agarwal and Kumr Utkarsh, alleged inaction on the part of authorities to repair or construct the 1 km long road, which is in a dilapidated condition, in front of Delhi Government School of Excellence, Delhi Government Co-ed School and SDMC Primary School in Madanpur Khadar area due to which thousands of students are facing a lot of problems in commuting or reaching to schools. "The connectivity to these schools… is worst since many years as neither public transport nor own conveyance can reach here. It is also submitted that entire 1 km road to schools is very rough and is even not suitable for walking.

The road is totally uneven, muddy and due to dust, the uniform of students and teachers also become dirty even before reaching school," the petition said. It said the students complain that the condition of the road is so bad that they often fall down while walking to their school and during rains, it become almost impossible to walk to the school on the road. It further said that Delhi Government School of Excellence was surrounded by open drain and garbage is lying around school's gate no. 2 and even a big size transformer has been installed in the middle of the way to gate no. 1 of the school which may prove dangerous for students.