Mayor flags worsening waste disposal in letter to MCD chief, seeks action

New Delhi

Delhi mayor Shelly Oberoi on Sunday flagged the “worsening condition of garbage disposal”, especially in central and western parts of the city, seeking action against civic officials responsible for the same.

In a communique to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) commissioner Ashwani Kumar, she said: “The commissioner MCD is hereby directed to ensure proper garbage collection and disposal across Delhi. To take stringent action against officials where garbage disposal is not happening in a timely manner... Garbage collection and disposal will be the personal responsibility of the MCD commissioner who will be held responsible for any unsanitary conditions in any part of the city.”

Oberoi also asked the commissioner to accompany her for daily inspections from August 20 to September 2 to cover each of MCD’s 12 zones.

An MCD official, requesting anonymity, said that the mayor was “fully aware” of the rules and procedures and the communication “was not in good taste”

With regard to central and western parts, Oberoi said in the letter: “For the past few days, the garbage collection in these areas has been irregular resulting in accumulation of waste on the streets. The bins remain overflowing and the stench from the decomposing waste in unbearable.”

“On numerous occasions, I have brought this matter to your notice. However, there is has been no progress on the issue. There is simply blame game between MCD officials and the waste management concessionaires. As the MCD commissioner, it is your responsibility to ensure that waste management is executed properly. However, it seems that the MCD’s official machinery is failing on ground,” she said.

Accusing the MCD commissioner of not having done a single inspection, she said: “Delhi’s cleanliness situation will not improve if officers do not step out of their air-conditioned office.”

HT previously reported that the central zone may face sanitation issues as the contract of the existing private concessionaire has expired and a new company cannot be appointed in the absence of a standing committee. The private operator had even threatened to stop work last month.

A senior MCD official said: “The letter written by the mayor is inspired by politics. It is an attempt to deflect the core issue that mayor has failed to persuade Delhi government to release due share of finances to the municipal corporation, which is leading to such problems.”

Praveen Shankar Kapoor, a spokesperson for the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said that the letter written by the mayor was a result of her party’s anarchic politics. “Failure to constitute the standing committee and ward committees of the MCD over the past 20 months due to the AAP’s obstinacy has hindered various development projects, and no new contracts related to sanitation services in Delhi can be awarded, and existing projects cannot be renewed,” he said.

Kapoor said that the Delhi BJP has consistently raised the issue of the sanitation contract in the central zone expiring, which has led to a complete breakdown in waste management in the area.