NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal today lambasted the municipal corporations over maintenance of cleanliness in different parts of the national capital and asked civic bodies to "use machines to clean the roads".
"Why can't corporations use machines to clean the roads? Corporation staff sweeps and dumps garbage in drains. If not so, tell us how the drains are choked. Tell us one place which is free of dirt. We also live in Delhi. Don't look left, right and centre. Your officers don't want to do anything. Why do you need orders to think?
"Nothing substantial has come before us for the whole one year. We have been asking corporations to clean the roads. At least you must try to think something. Don't try to justify your wrongs," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.
The observation came while hearing a plea filed by East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) which had sought NGT's nod to buy tractors for collection of waste.
The NGT had in a recent order allowed corporations to buy only BS-IV vehicles, however, available tractors in the market were only BS-III complaint.
"Why do you want to buy tractors for collection of waste? Use advanced machines which suck the dust. Tractors are used in rural areas for agricultural purposes and for collection of cow dung. They cause so much pollution," the bench said.
When the counsel for the corporations told the court that they were unable to clean the roads as most of colonies had cars parked on them, the NGT said,"there is no traffic in the day. Go to New Friends Colony right now and tell us how many cars are parked there.
"There is no right to people to park their vehicles on the metalled roads. There are orders of this tribunal prohibiting them to do so," it said.
Advocate Balendu Shekhar, representing EDMC, said there are narrow by-lanes in areas like Seelampur and Jahangirpuri where it was almost impossible to carry out cleaning work.