Terming the BJP ruled- Municipal Corporation a den of corruption, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said that if the BJP is incapable to run it properly, they should hand over the keys to AAP for its better functioning.
In an interview with The Pioneer, he said the three corporations have miserably failed to provide even the basic amenities such as health, primary education and ensuring cleanliness in the city.
“MCD today stands for ‘most corrupt department’. Irrespective of how much money you put into it but all goes down the drain as nothing happens on ground. The municipal corporations could pay salaries and clear dues to its staff easily they would have spent even 20 per cent of its budget for the development of the city,” he said.
Talking about ways to make corporations self reliant, carrying out new developmental projects and managing expenses within the same budget, he said there are plenty of ways to generate revenue from municipal corporations such as property tax, parking, health trade license and grants from the centre and Delhi government.
“There is no paucity of funds but the intention to serve people and provide them basic amenities and ensure sanitation is just not there. BJP ruled municipal corporations are clueless & totally devoid of ideas and plans and have messed it up completely. The Delhi Government is running with a surplus budget because our goal is clear to serve the people.
On the issue of taking credit of reducing coronavirus cases in Delhi, he said “If BJP thinks that this is the result of individual efforts, then Home Minister Amit Shah should immediately visit Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Maharashtra and Rajasthan where cases are up. If one person can control corona after taking a few meetings in Delhi he should take meetings in all the states to control cases,” he added.
“Imitation is the best form of flattery. BJP is adopting our foot imprint not only in Delhi but also following the education and health model introduced by the AAP government and it is a welcome step because we came in politics to change it,” he said.
Commenting over role of Facebook in fueling riots that had erupted in northeast Delhi earlier this year, Chadha said that till now, according to complains received on mails, evidences collected, statements of witnesses, the Peace and Harmony Committee has “prima facie” found that Facebook was “complicit” in the North East Delhi riots of February 2020 and thus decided to summon its officials.
BJP leaders' names have surfaced in the proceedings of Delhi Assembly’s Peace and Harmony Committee that how they fueled the riots in north east Delhi earlier this year, he said, adding that the Delhi Assembly has become the first assembly in India to telecast live proceedings to maintain transparency and to make people aware about the functions of Vidhan Sabha.
On the issue of labourers and those who lost jobs during the Corona crisis, Chadha said that the Delhi Government transferred Rs 5,000 assistance amount into the bank accounts of thousands of registered daily wage labourers associated with construction work in the city to assist them during the lockdown.
“The government also started a job portal and provided lakhs of jobs. The government will further extend all the help required,” he said.
He also said that providing 24*7 clean drinking water to everyone is a dream of the Kejriwal government and lots of initiatives have been taken to meet the demand.
“Delhi Jal Board is producing 930 MGD water now from all water treatment plants. We are talking to neighbouring states, working on recharging ground water, rainwater harvesting to increase the production up to 1150 MGD to meet the requirement of all the residents of Delhi,” he said.