HC directs the MCD to remove shops from bus stops in 15 days

New Delhi, Mar 16 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today directed authorities to remove all the shops from bus stops within 15 days for the smooth movements of the public transport buses in the Capital.

A bench of Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Hima Kohli directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), New Delhi Municipal Council(NDMC) and other authorities to evict all the squaters-- water trolleys, tea stalls, pan and cigarrette shops from the bus shelters.

The court directed the Delhi Transport Corporation(DTC) to repair, renovate and construct bus shelters all over the city starting with the ones on Shakarpur to Vivek Vihar in East Delhi.

The Chairman-cum-Manging Director of the DTC and DTC Senior Manager(Traffic) would be held responsible for the compliance of the directions, said the order.

The Station House Officers(SHOs) of the respective zones were directed to provide assistance to the municipal authorities in removing the squatters from the bus stands.

The DTC and DCP (Traffic) were directed to prosecute the public transport buses including that of the DTC who did not park their buses on proper lanes at the bus stops.

The Court asked the MCD to comply with the oder of the Supreme Court, which had banned hoardings on Delhi skylines while delivering the judgement in the M C Mehta vrs UOI case.

Serving notices to the MCD, Delhi Metro and NDMC, the court asked the authorities to file their replies on the issue within a month.

UNI