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M. Katju and O. Bhatt, JJ.

1. A drainage system is an essential part of the lifeline of a City. Without a proper drainage system in a City, there are bound to be epidemics, diseases, water logging and other kinds of big problems.

2. Due to the rains which started from the evening of August 30, 2000 and continued for two or three days atleast one third, if not one half, of Allahabad City went under water, causing huge loss of property and other problems in the City. The City became like Venice, with boats plying on the streets. Lacs of citizens lost their household goods and suffered various kinds of damage and hardships. Thousands of houses were several feet under water and many citizens had to abandon their houses or to go on the first floor. If there was one. The miseries of the people of Allahabad were unimaginable.

3. Not only the City of Allahabad is facing such a problem but also a large number of other Cities in India were also facing the same. For instance the newspapers reported that many parts of Calcutta City were several feet under water and people were seen swimming on the streets there. Similarly in Ahmedabad City, many colonies including the Gujarat High Court Judges Colony were several feet under water. This is a ridiculous state of affairs. We read in our history books that 5000 to 6000 years ago in Harappa and Mohanjodaro Civilization, there was a proper drainage system, water supply system and town planning. It seems that instead of progressing after 5000 to 6000 years, we are going backward. This state of affairs will no longer be tolerated by this Court as it directly affects Article 21 of the Constitution of India that guarantees a dignified and civilized life to all citizens of India.

4. In our opinion, the time has come in this country when the problems have become so big that bureaucrats alone cannot solve them. Hence, the citizens must also be involved in solving their own problems. In a democracy, the people are supreme, and hence all authorities are accountable to the citizens. We had in this petition earlier set up a Committee by our order dated 4.9.2000 under the Chairmanship of Dr, R. S. Dwivedi a Senior Advocate of this Court and this Committee shall be known as the Allahabad Citizens Committee. The members of the Committee, which we appointed, are Advocates, because Lawyers are the most representative section of the people. However, we have permitted the Chairman of the Committee to co-opt other persons also at his discretion, so that this problem of water logging and supply of water can be permanently solved. No doubt, the Committee did hard work, interviewed a large number of citizens in the affected areas, discussed the problems with the officials and personally visited the affected areas. However, we are still not satisfied with the work done by the Committee.

7. The Committee shall not only monitor the problems of water logging and water supply but also the other problems of Allahabad city, e.g., roads, electricity, hospitals and other civic amenities.

8. We direct that the Committee shall meet atleast once a fortnight as long as this writ petition is pending. The authorities will submit their progress reports to the Committee on each date. The Committee must submit its progress report to this Court on each date fixed by this Court. The authorities shall render accounts to the Committee about the money which has been received for these purposes and the Committee is empowered to investigate whether the account is correct or not and will introduce accountability amongst all officials.