CM chairs DDC Apex meet, focuses on Mission Kayakalp, monsoon and Kanwar Yatra preparedness
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday chaired a DDC Apex Committee meeting at the Delhi Secretariat where she reviewed Mission Kayakalp school renovation work, monsoon preparedness, and Kanwar Yatra arrangements.
The Chief Minister directed officials to leave their offices and personally inspect drains, pumping stations, and vulnerable hotspots rather than waiting for complaints. All 13 District Magistrates attended the meeting, along with DDC Chairperson and Moti Nagar MLA Harish Khurana and MLAs from multiple constituencies, to present their progress on assigned tasks.
On Mission Kayakalp, each District Magistrate had been assigned the task during summer vacation of identifying the two most dilapidated Government schools in their district and carrying out a complete transformation before the new academic session. The Chief Minister reviewed their presentations and specifically commended the District Magistrates of Outer North, North-East, and New Delhi districts for the quality of work done, describing their efforts as a model for other districts.
She praised those officers who went beyond the basic assignment by developing libraries, STEM labs, science labs, computer labs, smart classrooms, water coolers, renovated toilets, and wall paintings. She said several schools had used community participation, CSR support, and crowdfunding to achieve results, a model she said other districts should replicate.
She was direct about her expectations: poorly maintained school toilets will not be tolerated, and basic facilities, including drinking water, furniture, laboratories, and libraries, must receive the highest priority.
On waterlogging, the Chief Minister reiterated that citizens should not concern themselves with whether a locality falls under PWD, MCD, Delhi Jal Board, or DDA jurisdiction. They want their problem solved. She directed officials to personally visit the field, inspect roads and drains, and not wait for complaints over mobile phones. At all hotspots where waterlogging was reported after the very first rainfall of the season, immediate pump arrangements should be made, drains cleaned, and drainage connectivity restored. Where projects involve multiple agencies, she said those agencies must jointly prepare a time-bound action plan rather than waiting for the other to act.
The meeting reviewed waterlogging-prone areas in detail, including Baljeet Nagar, Patel Nagar, Sangam Vihar, Bawana, Kirari Sectors 20 to 24, Patparganj, Mungeshpur, Rama Vihar, Khedi Pul, Laxmi Nagar, Krishna Nagar, and Mandawali, with MLAs flagging specific concerns about drainage, desilting, pumping stations, and power substations in their constituencies.
On Kanwar Yatra, the Chief Minister directed all DMs to coordinate in advance with registered organisations that had managed camps in previous years and ensure complete arrangements for drinking water, sanitation, medical facilities, electricity, and traffic management for the safety and convenience of devotees.
She also directed that special camps be organised across all unauthorised colonies in Delhi under the PM UDAY Scheme so residents can complete registration before the October 31 deadline. She asked all DDC Chairpersons to regularly submit detailed progress reports on district development works to the Chief Minister’s Office.
On environment and urban management, she directed MCD to intensify the drive against encroachments on footpaths and asked all MLAs and departments to actively participate in the drive to plant 7 lakh saplings. She said every official will be held personally accountable for Mission Kayakalp, monsoon management, and Kanwar Yatra arrangements.
