Delhi HC directs DDA to Pay 20 lakh compensation to legal heirs of a mother-son who tragically died after falling in open drain

New Delhi [India], September 5 : The Delhi High Court directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to pay Rs 20 lakh in compensation to the legal heirs of a mother and son who tragically died after falling into a waterlogged open drain near the Ghazipur area. This order comes as a result of the court's findings related to the incident.
The bench of Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had agreed to pay Rs 20 lakh to the legal heirs of the deceased, Tanuja and Priyansh, as a humanitarian gesture.
The DDA's counsel stated that this payment was made without prejudice to its rights and contentions and without admitting any liability for the incident.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had expressed strong dissatisfaction with the functioning of civic agencies and their officials. The court stated that there has been criminal negligence by the civic authorities in the case and emphasised that they must be held accountable and booked for their actions.
Earlier, the court had expressed serious concern over the incident where a woman and child died after falling into a waterlogged drain in Ghazipur. The court criticised the civic agencies for their negligence and described the situation as indicative of broader issues with civic management.
The plea also sought accountability from the contractor responsible for the drain and requested a comprehensive audit of ongoing drain construction projects, including flood mitigation measures.
The petirioner Jhunnu Lal Srivastava also gave directions to the respondents to frame and adopt policies to address and mitigate the mayhem of the flood-like situation in Delhi for rainfall and further to cover all open drains in Delhi with immediate effect with proper signage educating the common public to stay away from the drains.
A woman and her child drowned on Wednesday after falling into a waterlogged drain in the Ghazipur, near Mayur Vihar area of East Delhi, following heavy rainfall in the national capital. The deceased were identified as Tanuja (22) and her child, Priyansh (3), residents of Prakash Nagar Khoda Colony.
Plea alleged that DDA has acted in blatant violation of its own circular No. 135 dated 26.02.1986, wherein it was directed to all engineers to strictly ensure that there should not be any gap on deep covered drains and no manhole should be left uncovered in order to avoid any mishap or accident.
The lack of a comprehensive flood management policy and the presence of uncovered drains violate the fundamental right to health and safety of Delhi's residents. The respondents, despite frequent fatalities due to waterlogging and clogged drains, have failed to take corrective steps, which are leading to further loss of lives, plea stated.