The Delhi High Court on Monday quashed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) for failing to conduct social disability audits in the Vasant Vihar area in a “proper manner” and for failing to take steps to make streets and sidewalks wheelchair-friendly.
Judge Najmi Waziri, while hearing a contemptuous plea alleging inaction by the authorities to protect the trees and prevent them from concretizing, noted a video showing a citizen officer in a wheelchair conducting the audit, but with the help of another person.
On November 15 last year, the court said SDMC engineers would travel alone in wheelchairs across sidewalks throughout the colony to ensure the availability of the sidewalks. Citizen agency officials conducted the audit with assistance, as required.
The court observed that every citizen has the right to move around within the area delineated by the state and asked why SDMC officers did not move independently in wheelchairs.
“Do they find it difficult when they move around in a wheelchair?” the court asked SDMC’s lawyers.
Complete News Source : Hindustan Times
