New Delhi, Dec 16 (IANS): The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the city government's Fire Department and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to examine the feasibility of implementing a basic level of safety for the residents of slums and JJ clusters.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighting the tragic incident in the slums of Neb Sarai, where a fire claimed the lives of a 12-year-old girl and a woman.
"This preventable disaster occurred because emergency services, including fire brigades, could not access the area due to narrow and congested lanes," said the petition filed by Alliance For People’s Rights, a network of NGOs.
This heartbreaking event has brought into sharp focus the administrative apathy that has not only violated the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India but also caused immense hardship to the community, it added.
The petition said that the fire caused immense hardship to approximately 100 individuals, most of whom belonged to economically vulnerable groups, and these families lost not only their makeshift homes but also their meagre possessions, plunging them further into despair.
"This incident underscores the dire consequences of administrative apathy and highlights the urgent need for infrastructural development and disaster preparedness in Neb Sarai to prevent such tragedies in the future," it further stated.
The PIL, filed through advocate Pankaj Sinha, sought directions for formulation and implementation of comprehensive guidelines addressing the challenges faced by slums across various parts of Delhi, particularly those with narrow passages that hinder access to essential public services and facilities, to prevent the recurrence of such unfortunate incidents in the future.
It also demanded that authorities should be ordered to pay exemplary and adequate compensation to all the victims who have lost their lives or who have sustained fatal injuries on account of their fault. Further, it sought directions to ensure basic amenities in the localities so as to ensure the right to live with dignity to the residents of the community.
Stressing the requirement for proper construction guidelines in the national capital, the Delhi High Court disposed of the petition.