Contempt of court notices over enclosures along the Yamuna (The Hindu 25 November 2011)

The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued contempt of court notices to the Delhi Government, the Delhi Development Authority and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi asking them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for their failure to build enclosures along the Yamuna in the Capital for immersion of idols and religious material to control pollution.
The Government had in an affidavit in 2007 informed the Court that it had chalked out a plan in association with the DDA and the civic body to build 13 enclosures along the river for immersion of idols and religious material into the river at festival times and thereafter release the water into the river after treating it and collecting un-degradable material likes clothes and plastic bags.
The Government had filed the affidavit in response to two orders passed by the Court asking it to build confined ponds or bunds along the river for immersion of idols and religious material into it to prevent pollution under the Delhi Plastic Bag (Manufacture, Sale and Usage) and Garbage Control Act, 2004.
‘Control pollution'
The Court had passed the orders on a public interest litigation by social activist Vinod Jain seeking implementation of the Act to control pollution in the river as the legislation prevents dumping of garbage in river, ponds and at public places.
In the contempt petition, Mr. Jain alleged that the Government instead of constructing the enclosures as promised to the Court had been promoting immersion of idols and religious material into the river at the festival time by providing access to vehicles carrying idols for immersion into the river by various religious organisations.
According to the plan drawn up in 2007, the DDA has to provide finances and the civic body to build the enclosures. At one time, the Government had informed the petitioner that it had launched a pilot project to test the success of the enclosure to control pollution in the river, and if successful, it would be implemented along its whole stretch in the Capital but nothing had been done so far, the contempt petition said.
Issuing the notices, Justice V.K. Shali asked the respondents to file replies by February 7 next year, the next date of hearing