| Address: | Gurudwara Lane, New Delhi, Delhi, 110085 |
This is to report severe and unjust harassment of law-abiding citizens by North MCD staff.
After undergoing major surgery in October last year, I had stopped emptying our trash into the infrequent MCD garbage collection vehicles as I reside on the 3rd floor and wasn’t physically in a position to carry the garbage down. In any case, the constant strikes and absence of garbage collection vehicles made it necessary for me to rely on a private garbage collector who regularly comes upstairs and collects the garbage. Since late 2018, this is the arrangement that had been going on.
Today the garbage collector didn’t come and our maid took the trash downstairs to the MCD vehicle that had come. That’s when the ordeal begun. The garbage collection vehicle was accompanied by a group of people identifying themselves as MCD staffers. They asked the maid to call me downstairs and started blaring warnings on loud-speaker in a very crude manner.
Not only this, they crossed all limits of descent civil behaviour by pointing to my wife who was in the balcony on the third floor and asking her over loud-speakers to come downstairs immediately or face legal action without even explaining who they were or why were they making all those loud speaker announcements.
When I went downstairs, two of the people one of whom was making the announcements on a microphone and the other who was introduced as the top official of the bunch, told me that now the MCD collects segregated garbage and the garbage in our bin contained a few empty milk and food pouches. They asked me to get it segregated which the maid did on the spot. Then we had a discussion wherein they told me that since I was not aware of this, they want to explain how it is done. Despite my standing right next to them, they again started blaring things on loud speaker. I still didn’t object to it since I felt they were only spreading awareness and it is good for everyone to know the value of garbage segregation. They also gave me a pamphlet and told me that it was okay for once as I was not aware of the new policy, but, I should install separate bins for wet and dry garbage, to which I readily agreed. Suddenly one of the guys warned me that there is a fine ranging from 20 thousand to 26 thousand straightaway for the ‘offence’, that they were not charging this time, but, in future they would. I told them that I would get the bins installed immediately and even today the maid had done the segregation then and there as per their instructions.
Suddenly the well meaning community awareness thing (as I assumed it was) was marred by another gang member (sorry to say, but, their behaviour was now unbecoming of government personnel concerned about the citizens), who held a challan book. He told the others that they had spent a lot of time on the street and they need to punish someone at least and it was then declared that they were going to issue a challan to me. That’s when I protested against it and asked them that why were they suddenly behaving like this when we had a discussion already wherein they had told me to be careful about it in the future and I had readily agreed. Technically, even today since the maid had segregated the garbage as per their instructions, I didn’t commit any mistake so there was no case for a challan. Then they said that they had spent a lot of time and in any case they were going to issue a smaller fine and not 20 thousand plus as they could. They even started video recording without my permission as if I was some criminal and when I refused to allow them do video recording without any clarification, they threatened police action. I told them that I don’t mind paying the challan if I did commit any mistake. Then the guy who was reportedly their boss said, “It is only a small amount and it is going to go to the government only so you shouldn’t have a problem with that.” Seriously, is that the logic now? We are already paying Swachh Bharat Cess on a lot of things and I told him that it was not about the amount being small or major, but, about the integrity of how a government official should behave. He had himself told me that since I was unaware and I had got the garbage segregated on the spot thus, not breaking any rule (if there was one), they won’t challan me. Then why the sudden urge to make someone an example just because they had spent time on the street and had to find a scapegoat.
Seeing them behave illogically, I asked them to tell me what the challan amount was so that I could pay it then and there. They refused to tell me anything and handed over a slip mandating me to make an appearance in the court on a working day.
For them it was easy to harass a law abiding citizen like that, but, being a privately employed person, it is quite dreadful for me to make a court appearance in a court complex where criminals and offenders are supposed to be. Not only that, I am a privately employed person who will have to suffer the loss of a day’s salary due to skipping office on a working day apart from the mental torture of going to court for no offense of mine (a fact that even they had accepted before deciding that they had to find a scapegoat to show for their efforts of the day). .Also, it was quite humiliating for me and my wife to be treated like some criminal or law-breaker in front of the entire neighbourhood despite not having committed any offense.
We hereby complain against the unnamed North MCD officials for the harassment they meted out to us unnecessarily and the unjustified challan which will be a cause of further harassment and loss to me at a time when I am recovering from a serious health issue.
It is a humble request from concerned officials that they should look into the matter and for once consider being public employees for the well-being of the people instead of behaving like gangs on the prowl to find an unsuspecting target to demonstrate their execution of duties.
I have a very high respect for government and public employees, and hope the senior MCD officials will be more committed to public welfare than their men on the streets.
Seeking a remedial action and the cancellation of the fraudulent challan!
Yours faithfully
Praveen Kumar Gupta
D 293, IIIrd Floor, Prashant Vihar
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Kapil Bhakkar