Anil Baijal had been slammed by the top court over the state of garbage landfills in Delhi.
Highlights
- Supreme Court asked who was responsible for clearing Delhi landfills
- Anil Baijal said garbage disposal civic body's job under his supervision
- You say 'I am Superman', you don't do anything: Supreme Court
Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal faced the wrath of the Supreme Court today after he said garbage disposal in the city was the job of the civic body and he was in charge of monitoring it. The Lieutenant Governor's response came after the top court - which is looking into the solid waste management issue across the country -- asked who was responsible for the "mountains of garbage" that were slowly burying the city, the Centre or the Delhi government.
"You (the Lieutenant Governor) say 'I have power, I am a Superman'. But you don't do anything," the judges said after amicus curiae Colin Gonsalves said no one from the Lieutenant Governor's office has attended any meeting on the clean-up at three main landfill sites of Delhi -- Gazipur, Okhla and Bhalaswa.
The court's rebuke comes days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had accused the Lieutenant Governor of fueling what he called a strike by the IAS officers of Delhi to hobble the elected government. The officers, he said were repeatedly skipping meetings chaired by ministers, severely affecting administration. The matter was partly solved with a judgment from the top court, which said the centre's representative in Delhi has control only over land, police and public order.
In March, the top court had said that the day is not far when garbage mounds at the Ghazipur landfill will compete with the height of 73-metre-high Qutab Minar and red beacon lights will have to be used to ward off aircraft flying over it.
"There is no change in the ground level from 2015 since we started monitoring the case. Another three years will go," said a bench of Justices Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta.
The court ordered the Lieutenant Governor to provide identity cards and uniform to ragpickers and update it by 2 pm.