PIL In Delhi High Court Seeks Court-Monitored Measures To Prevent Recurring Waterlogging, Disclosure Of Monsoon Preparedness

A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Delhi Government and civic agencies to prevent recurring waterlogging in the national capital, disclose pre-monsoon preparedness measures and ensure accountability for repeated flooding during every monsoon season.

Filed by advocate Akansha Saini, the petition seeks institutional reforms, transparency, accountability and effective implementation of statutory obligations by the authorities to safeguard the lives, health, property and constitutional rights of the residents of Delhi.

The plea contends that despite annual claims of desilting, flood mitigation and monsoon preparedness, even moderate rainfall continues to flood roads, residential colonies, commercial establishments, hospitals and areas surrounding courts.

As per the plea, such situation causes traffic paralysis, damage to property, disruption of essential services and serious threats to life and public safety.

The plea argues that the recurring problem is no longer a matter of civic inconvenience but raises issues concerning the fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

Referring to the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle at Old Rajendra Nagar in July 2024, the petition submits that the tragedy exposed glaring deficiencies in urban drainage management, emergency preparedness and regulatory enforcement.

The petition further states that waterlogging during previous monsoons caused extensive damage to advocates' offices located around court complexes, resulting in destruction of case files, judicial records, computers and other office infrastructure.

“Despite the expenditure of enormous public funds every year towards desilting and flood-control measures, the recurrence of identical incidents in the same localities demonstrates a serious failure of implementation, coordination, supervision and accountability among the Respondent Authorities,” the plea states.

The PIL seeks directions to the authorities to file a comprehensive affidavit detailing monsoon preparedness, disclose area-wise desilting status, storm-water drain capacity, vulnerable locations and officer-wise responsibility.

It further seeks joint inspections of all waterlogging-prone areas, inspect court complexes and commercial buildings housing lawyers' offices.

The plea also seeks to establish a unified real-time dashboard for waterlogging complaints, constitute rapid response teams for identified hotspots and undertake an independent post-monsoon audit to fix accountability for recurring failures.

Title: AKANSHA SAINI v. GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF DELHI, THROUGH THE CHIEF SECRETARY AND ORS