NHRC notice to Delhi govt, MCD, DJB over 'inappropriate disposal' of unit waste in drains in colony

The NHRC has issued a notice to the Delhi government, city's municipal corporation and the water board over reports that some residents of the Vishnu Garden area are facing extreme difficulty due to industrial waste being "inappropriately disposed" of in drains of a colony by a unit, officials said on Wednesday.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in a statement, said the content of a media report, if true, amounts to a violation of human rights affecting people's health.

It has taken suo motu cognisance of the report that the residents of a block in the Vishnu Garden area in Delhi are facing "extreme difficulty due to the industrial waste being inappropriately disposed of by a jeans dying unit in the drains of the colony, which blocks the drains as well as the sewage lines in the residential area".

The sewage water keeps overflowing on the colony's roads. The drinking water has also been contaminated. Several complaints have been made by the residents to the civic authorities but no action has been taken, the statement said.

Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the chief secretary, government of Delhi, the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the chief executive officer, Delhi Jal Board (DJB), and sought detailed reports within four weeks, it said.

The NHRC has called for a report from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) regarding action taken by it against the industrial unit responsible for causing pollution in the area, it added.

Issuing the notices, the Commission has further observed that the interest of the general public in Article 19(5) of the Constitution is a comprehensive expression comprising several issues which affect public welfare, public convenience, public order, health, safety, etc. all intended to achieve the socio-economic justice of the people, the statement said.

The expression of life, enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, has a much wider meaning, which includes the right to livelihood, better standard of living and hygienic conditions while living at home or in the working place. Therefore, it is the bounden duty of the state to protect the above rights of the citizens in the discharge of its constitutional obligation in the larger public interest, it said.