Sunil Kumar Aledia vs Govt Of Nct Of Delhi & Anr
2020 Latest Caselaw 1704 Del

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*      IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+      W.P.(C) 2978/2020 and CM APPL. 10329-30/2020
       SUNIL KUMAR ALEDIA                      ..... Petitioner
                    Through: Mr. Kamlesh Kumar Mishra,
                    Advocate

                          versus

       GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI AND ORS.        ..... Respondents
                     Through: Mr. Sanjay Jain, ASG with
                     Mr. Parvinder Singh Chauhan, Advocate for
                     R-1/GNCTD, R-2/DUSIB, R-3/Delhi Police
                     and R-9 and R-10/Deptt. of Labour, GNCTD.
                     Mr. Manik Dogra and Ms. Aastha Lumba,
                     Advocates for R-5/Company.
       CORAM:
       HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE HIMA KOHLI
       HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD
                          ORDER

% 20.04.2020

1. The present Public Interest petition has been placed before this Bench on urgent mentioning being allowed.

2. The matter has been heard through Video Conferencing.

3. In the background of the lockdown imposed by the Union of India and the Govt. of NCT of Delhi to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, the following threefold issues have been raised in the present petition:-

(1) That thousands of homeless persons, Daily wage workers, stranded and living in the open along the bank of river Yamuna, at Kashmere Gate, Delhi are without any shelter, toilet or medical facility.

(2) That payment is demanded from users of Public Toilet

facilities in and around the Homeless Shelters and Slum Clusters.

(3) That thousands of Construction workers of Shapoorji Pallonji Construction Company engaged in the construction work at Pragati Maidan are stranded without any proper provision for their food at the Labour camp near Sarai Kaale Khan.

4. Learned counsel for almost all the contesting respondents are present on being served with an advance copy of the writ petition. Mr. Sanjay Jain, learned ASG appears with Mr. Parvinder Singh Chauhan, Advocate for the respondent No.2/Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (in short, 'DUSIB'). He states that he has also received instructions to appear on behalf of the respondent No.1/GNCTD, respondent No.3/Commissioner of Police and respondents No.9 and 10/Department of Labour, GNCTD. Appearance is entered by Mr.Manik Dogra with Ms. Aastha Lumba, Advocates for the respondent No.5/Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited (in short, 'Company'). Though we are informed that a counsel has entered appearance for the respondent No.6/NBCC, due to a technical glitch at his end, he is not able to connect through Video Conferencing. In any case, the primary relief in the present petition is directed against the respondent No.1/GNCTD, respondent No.2/DUSIB and the respondent No.5/Company.

5. Mr. Sanjay Jain, learned ASG contends that insofar as the issue No.1 is concerned, which relates to daily wage workers being stranded on the Yamuna embankment allegedly without any shelter, toilet or medical facilities, learned counsel for the petitioner has not undertaken a thorough exercise before approaching the Court by filing the present

petition. He submits that there were 4229 inhabitants living at Yamuna pushta. From out of the said 4229 inhabitants, between 14.04.2020 to 16.04.2020, 3600 have been shifted to different schools in East Delhi, West Delhi and North West Delhi; 600 have been shifted to the Yamuna Sports Complex and 358 have been shifted to Shelter Homes being run by the respondent No.2/DUSIB. DUSIB has arranged make-shift shelters for them at whichever place they have been shifted to. Besides the above, arrangements have been made for providing free food, potable water, mobile toilet vans, sanitation and medical facilities. It is thus stated that none of the daily wage workers are stranded and living in the open at Yamuna pushta, as asserted by the petitioner.

6. On the aforesaid information being furnished on behalf of the respondents No.1, 2, 3, 9 and 10, Mr. Kamlesh Kumar Mishra, learned counsel for the petitioner states that the present petition was filed on 17.04.2020 when the above position was not to the knowledge of his client. He states that he is satisfied that the daily wage workers referred to in issue No.1 are being adequately taken care of by the respondent No.2/DUSIB.

7. Coming next to the second issue raised in the present petition, which relates to levying charges for use of the public toilet facilities in and around Shelter Homes and Slum clusters, learned ASG states on instructions that ever since 01.01.2018, the respondent No.2/DUSIB has been providing toilet facilities in J.J. clusters without levying any charges. He further states that on verifying from the civic authorities in Delhi, the information gathered is that none of the municipal bodies are levying any charges for using public toilet facilities during the lockdown

period. As regards public toilet facilities being run on BOT basis in collaboration with some NGOs working in the field, the same are functioning in market places and due to the lockdown, presently, all the markets have been shut down and therefore the petitioner, cannot have any grievance in respect of the said toilet facilities.

8. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that in view of the reply furnished on behalf of the respondents No.1, 2, 3, 9 and 10, the second issue also stands addressed.

9. Coming to the last issue raised in the petition, which relates to the construction workers working at Pragati Maidan and living at a Labour Camp at Sarai Kale Khan, Mr. Manik Dogra, learned counsel for the respondent No.5/Company submits that 1547 labour are residing at the Sarai Kale Khan Camp and they are not directly employed by the respondent No.5/Company but are employed by several sub-contractors appointed by the respondent No.5/Company that has been awarded a contract to complete the construction work at Pragati Maidan. He submits that not only is the Labour Camp running smoothly, provision has been made for power supply, fans, lights and toilets. An in-house RO plant has also been installed at the Labour Camp for supplying clean water to the construction workers. Besides the above, there is an ambulance on site alongwith two doctors and a male nurse, who are stationed at the Labour Camp. It is stated that there are grocery shops and vegetable shops in Sarai Kale Khan, where the contract labour goes to make purchases and they have their own arrangement for cooking food.

10. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner intervenes to state that if the construction workers are employed by the sub-contractors and

not by the respondent No.5/Company, then there is no surety that wages have actually been released to them regularly to enable them to make purchases of essential items including food items, milk etc. during the lockdown period.

11. Mr. Dogra, learned counsel for the respondent No.5/Company responds by stating that the company is regularly releasing payments to all the sub-contractors. He assures the court that the officers of the company shall follow up with the sub-contractors and ensure that if the salaries have not been released to the labour engaged by them, as contended, then the same are released forthwith.

12. Mr. Sanjay Jain, learned ASG seeks to supplement that officers of the respondent No.9 and 10/Labour Department, GNCTD had inspected the Camp just yesterday and they are satisfied that it is being run smoothly. He further states that besides the contract labour of the sub- contractors working for the respondent No.5/Company, six other camps are being run by the respondent No.2/DUSIB in the same vicinity where the contract labour/daily wagers are being supplied food and other facilities on a regular basis during the lockdown period.

13. In view of the aforesaid submission, this court is satisfied that all the three issues raised in the present petition have been satisfactorily addressed by the concerned respondents and there is no reason to keep the matter pending.

14. Accordingly, the present petition is disposed of with directions issued to the respondents to continue taking necessary steps to ensure that there is no dearth of food, potable water, electricity and other requirements of sanitation in the area where the inhabitants of Yamuna

Pushta have now been relocated or the Labour Camps at Sarai Kale Khan throughout the lockdown period.

15. The present petition is disposed of alongwith the pending applications.

HIMA KOHLI, J

SUBRAMONIUM PRASAD, J APRIL 20, 2020 rkb