NEW DELHI: Observing that its orders to clean up the capital were “not getting the attention it deserves”, Delhi high court on Tuesday passed a slew of directions the three municipal corporations to ensure that the issue of solid waste management is addressed on a “war footing”.

A bench of acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar observed that Singapore is clean city as there are rules for solid waste disposal and stringent punishments for littering. It said the corporations must pick any one colony as a pilot project and ensure total cleanliness by carrying out periodic inspections and levying challans so that people change their habits .

“Only thing people understand is punishments. You have to enforce your penal provisions. Identify a colony and get residents into the habit of not littering and carry out random inspections,” the bench remarked.

HC said it does not want to keep watching videos, filed by a court-appointed local commissioner, on the lack of waste management and directed the Centre to place on record any proposal it may have on solid waste management or to clean up Delhi.

“Delhi needs help. Is the capital not your (Centre) responsibility? Why is Delhi not entitled to the amount of Rs 488 per head like the other states are getting,” the court asked Centre.

On dengue deaths and several other cases of vector-borne diseases in Delhi, the court said it needed an action plan. “The civic bodies are in a hopeless position. There is complete unwillingness to do anything. They have no staff, no money and no land,” it noted, asking the corporations to file an action-taken report, in connection with the directions, by the next date of hearing on May 22.

The court was hearing PILs seeking directions to the authorities to take steps to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases in the national capital.

