Delhi govt's one hand doesn't know what other is doing: HC

The Delhi High court on Friday blasted the government’s panel on unauthorised religious structures for not functioning properly. The court told the AAP-led government that its "one hand ... does not know what the other ... is doing.

Justice Manmohan warned the committee, set up to look into unauthorised religious structures built on government lands, that he might order disbanding of the panel as it has not decided even half of the matters pending before it.

The court’s observation came in a matter pertaining to infrastructural projects, one of which was pending since 1976, as there were several religious structures which were to be demolished for completion of the work.

Here are the top quotes of the court:  

-          The judge said One hand of the government does not know what the other hand is doing. I am surprised what you (committee) people are doing.

-          Observing that there was no coordination among government agencies, the judge said, “I am candidly saying that nothing is happening in the religious committee. Its members are bureaucrats and they do not even bother to meet and when they meet, they defer the matter on one pretext or the other.”

-          “Infrastructure project is held up due to this.  Government officers do not want to do their work. I will be constrained to say that the religious committee is not doing anything and it should be disbanded,” the judge said.

-          “The main problem is that there is no coordination between the government agencies. The main grievance is that nothing is being done by the committee. You are not doing 50 per cent of your work and you have not decided even half of the matters which are pending before the committee,” it said.

-          The court directed the government to file a report in this regard within two weeks.