LG and CM spar over civic infra at unauthorised colonies in Delhi
The LG shared photos of X to show the poor civic and infrastructure conditions in Sangam Vihar, besides a picture in which he is seen touring the area with officials
Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal were engaged in a face-off on social media platform, X, on Tuesday over civic and infrastructure issues in Sangam Vihar, a neighbourhood in south Delhi.
“Went to Sangam Vihar yesterday on the request of local residents. Despite 9 years of shigufa, more than 20 lakh (2 million) people living in the area are forced to live a hellish life, deprived of basic public facilities. There are no roads, no sewers, no garbage disposal,” LG said in a post in Hindi on X on Tuesday afternoon. He also shared multiple photos to show the poor civic and infrastructure conditions in the area, besides a picture in which he is seen touring the area with officials.
Replied to the post, Kejriwal demanded that LG should take action against Delhi government officers who are supposed to fix the situation because LG has control over services and vigilance in the Capital.
“I am thankful to you that you pointed out our shortcomings. Earlier you had also highlighted the shortcomings of Kirari and Buradi. I am now ordering the Chief Secretary to remove all these shortcomings in all these areas within seven days. The shortcomings you have pointed out - strictest action should be taken against the officers who had to do this work and did not do it. “Services” and “vigilance” comes under your jurisdiction. If it were under me, I would not only immediately suspend such careless officers but would also take such action against them that no other officer would dare to commit such a careless act. I hope that you will immediately suspend the most senior officers of these departments and give them exemplary punishment. 2 crore Delhiites will wait for your action,” Kejriwal said in the reply.
The LG and the Arvind Kejriwal government have been engaged in a sustained tussle over a range of issues in the city related to the administration of the city-state and the latest being the civic issues. Though Kejriwal as the CM heads the elected government, he does not have control over bureaucrats working under the Delhi government as Delhi is considered a Union Territory and currently the control over services is under the central government. LG is appointed by the central government and is the representative of the Centre.
In five different posts, the LG shared 20 pictures showing the poor infrastructure and civic issues in the area. “Randomly hanging electrical wires are dangerous and a rickshaw overturned in front of me on a rough road and a woman was injured. The country cannot imagine that overflowing drains, heaps of garbage and streets filled with stinking sewer water will happen in the capital of India. All the concerned departments – I&FC, Water Board, Urban Development, DSIIDC (Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation) are completely under Delhi Government and MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) is also under you. I saw a similar situation in Kirari and Burari also,” the LG further wrote on X.
“Honorable Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal ji is requested to pay attention to the problems of Delhi and the general public of Delhi. I am attaching some pictures for your information,” the LG added.
To be sure, the AAP is in power in the MCD after it won the 2022 MCD polls. However, MCD officers are also not under the control of the elected administration of the local body.
In response to Saxena, Kejriwal said that LG was doing the work of the opposition BJP. “The work you are doing should have been done by the opposition. It is the job of the opposition to point out the shortcomings of the ruling party. Unfortunately, today all the seven MPs of the opposition i.e. BJP are busy retiring from politics and the eight MLAs are fast asleep. This is the reason why power in Delhi has been away from BJP for the last 26 years. Therefore, you are forced to play the role of opposition despite holding the constitutional post of LG,” said Kejriwal.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said for the last nine years, not just Sangam Vihar but from Tughlakabad to Chhatarpur, AAP legislators are present in the entire area. Yet development, maintenance and water supply are elusive in this region. “Instead of blaming officials, Kejriwal should demand answer from his legislators, Jal Board and public works department ministers, and the mayor regarding the deterioration of amenities in Sangam Vihar and the six surrounding assembly constituencies. Around 4 million people living in the areas of six constituencies of Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, Devli, Ambedkar Nagar, Mehrauli, and Chhatarpur and provide immense support to Delhi’s economic development, but are themselves neglected by the Delhi government,” he said.
Later, Kejriwal wrote a letter to chief secretary Naresh Kumar asking him to fix the shortcomings flagged by LG within seven days and send the CM the daily action taken report.
“LG visited Sangam Vihar, Burari and Kirari areas in the last few days and found several shortcomings in the form of inadequate garbage cleaning, overflowing sewers, broken drains, overflowing drains, broken roads etc. Kindly read all the tweets of Hon’ble LG in this regard. If needed, please obtain a detailed report from the office of Hon’ble LG. You are hereby directed to ensure that all the shortcomings pointed by Hon’ble LG are addressed within seven days, namely by 5 pm on 12th March. You will also send me a daily action taken report by 5 pm everyday till then,” the letter said.
HT reached out to the chief secretary, but did not get any response on request for comment.
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