Urban development projects in Delhi mostly remain non-starters even as the city chokes.

The reason can be found in prolonged legal battles between resident welfare associations, citizens and civil activists on one side and government agencies on the other.

Both sides have valid arguments: While litigants complain that a certain government venture is an attack on citizens’ rights, state authorities say every day lost in completing the project is a drain on the exchequer. It is left to the judges to decide as time passes and the odds multiply.

“Filing a public interest petition in the Delhi High Court costs a person only Rs 50 per head, depending on the number of litigants,” said Kapil Dutta, a panel lawyer with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). “But work on infrastructure projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees slow down or stall when the court takes up a case. The tax payer takes a beating if the court adjourns hearing even by a month.”

Here are three samples of pending litigations on public undertakings in the Delhi High Court.

Azadpur Grade Separator Flyover
A joint project of the MCD and the Public Works Department (PWD) at the Ring Road-GT Karnal Road intersection in Azadpur, the project was taken up to ease traffic flow in time for the Commonwealth Games.

Though the Games is just a sprint away, the civic agency has developed cold-feet following a challenge from a group of local traders led by Veena Bassi in the High Court against clearing up the site.

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