To eliminate the problem of traffic jam in Delhi, we widened many roads which come under PWD, but we could not widen the roads under MCD- Somnath Bharti
I gave money from MLA funds for connecting the Press Enclave road with Malviya Nagar intersection, work order got sanctioned, groundbreaking took place but local BJP councilor Dr Nandani Sharma did not let the work start- Somnath Bharti
Standing Committee Chairman Col Oberoi did not even let the resolution for the project pass because of BJP Councillor Nandini Sharma’s pressure- Somnath Bharti
It has happened many times that SDMC have taken funds from MLAs but have not done any work under pressure of BJP Councilors – Somnath Bharti
Kejriwal Government’s departments charge 1/3rd the amount MCD charges for projects – Somnath Bharti
I appeal to the people that the works under MCD should be initiated only after the upcoming elections, so that your work can also be done in time and money is not misused in corruption- Somnath Bharti
NEW DELHI:
Every Delhiite now knows that the BJP-ruled MCD is so high headed that it loots public funds regularly. But it has now stooped down to a level that it is keeping MLA LAD funds hostage as well. AAP Senior Leader and MLA Shri Somnath Bharti stated — BJP ruled MCD holding MLA-LAD funds hostage; not doing any work despite taking money under the pressure of BJP councillors. To eliminate the problem of traffic jam in Delhi, we widened many roads which come under PWD, but we could not widen the roads under MCD. I gave money from MLA funds for widening the road connecting the Press Enclave road with Malviya Nagar intersection, work order got sanctioned, groundbreaking took place but local BJP councilor Dr Nandani Sharma did not let the work start. Standing Committee Chairman Col Oberoi did not even let the resolution for the project pass even after 4 years of keeping MLALAD funds because of BJP Councillor Nandini Sharma’s pressure.
It has happened many times that SDMC have taken funds from MLAs but have not done any work because of pressure of BJP councillors. Kejriwal Government’s departments charge 1/3rd the amount MCD charges for projects. I appeal to the people that the works under MCD should be initiated only after the upcoming elections, so that your work can also be done in time, be of best quality and money is not misused in rampant corruption.
Senior AAP Leader and MLA Somnath Bharti said, “The Aam Aadmi Party government, led by Arvind Kejriwal Ji, is keen to find answers to Delhi’s issues, while the BJP is eager to exacerbate them. Today, we presented you with yet another example. The BJP has been in power in Delhi’s MCD for 15 years and they’ve always claimed that they don’t have any money. Many times from this stage, our colleagues have demonstrated how the BJP does not perform despite having money and how it misappropriates public funds. The Delhi MLAs have a fund called the MLALAD. The MCD has jurisdiction over every visible thing in Delhi. Understandably, residents of an area approach the MLA with complaints and concerns because the public is unaware of what falls under the jurisdiction of the MCD, the Delhi Government, or the PWD. Because the councilors are unavailable to hear them, the public turns to the MLA. The MLA, out of love and affection, provides a lot of funds to the MCD to get the work done. However, within the MCD, the BJP’s councilors and the chairman of the BJP’s standing committee are refusing to allow the work to be completed, severely jeopardizing the public’s convenience.”
He added, “Every one of my Delhi MLA colleagues has brought this up on one or the other occassion. East MCD has stated that you must first obtain a NOC from local councilor before spending from the Vidhayak Nidhi money. This is completely audacious and unconstitutional. The South and North MCDs have not done so formally because our colleagues there were aware of the situation and refused to allow it to happen but BJP councillors are using their might to block works being executed through MLALAD funds. Despite this, funds from the Vidhayak Nidhi fund were demanded by placing pressure on officials. Then the sanction was done, the tender was done; the inauguration was done, but the BJP councilors refused to allow the work to proceed. This is the mandate on which they are working. This is terribly unfortunate.”
He continued, “The work which you are getting done through MCD for Rs.100, my Irrigation and Flood Department, gets that work done for Rs.10-30. I’ll give you an example. With the help of the Vidhayak Nidhi fund and many officials and departments, I have expanded several left turns in the area for traffic decongestion. We have made this new left turn in locations where there is considerable traffic congestion. Because these were PWD roads, I could get this done. One was built at IIT, another was constructed at the Police Training School, one was built at Adhchini Traffic light, one was at Yusuf Sarai Gurudwara, one was built at the DERC, one was constructed at the Telephone Exchange Hauzkhas, and one was created on the route to AIIMS from Qutub Minar. In this manner, I could have the left turns on PWD roads widened in 11 locations in my area. On Chaudhary Dilip Singh Marg, which runs from Hauzkhas Police station to Hauz Khas, a roundabout was created. There used to be hours-long traffic delays there; now, there isn’t even a second-long traffic jam. There is another road that connects Press Enclave Road to Malviya Nagar roundabout. People approached me in 2017 and requested that this road be widened as well. MCD owned the road, so we wrote to them and they agreed, took the funds issued work order but then never started because of unconstitutional interference of BJP’s local Councillor. While I was able to get the roads widened and roundabouts built when it was the PWD I was dealing with, the MCD has been stalling this work for a long time. These individuals have upset the public, and they have also misappropriated the Vidhayak Nidhi fund that we provided.”
Shri Bharti said, “The MCD was given MLALAD funds in 2018 for the improvement and development of services road at corner Amar Shakti park, F-block, toward press enclave road, as well as the improvement of its walkway in Malviya Nagar. It has been approved, tendering has taken place, and the contractor is also onboard. The site was also launched in 2018 by the deputy commissioner at the time. Now that 2018 has passed, the year is 2022, and I have just received an update from the SDMC Commissioner. The commissioner claims it is really sad, but the truth is that it was blocked by the BJP councilors in front of Col. Oberoi, the Chairman of the Standing Committee.”
He added, “My question to them is why did they take the funds if they had no intention of actually doing the work? MCD has collected funds from numerous MLAs in Delhi, including me, yet they are not working. So I’d like to know why the BJP is holding our Vidhayak Nidhi fund hostage. Today, the residents of Malviya Nagar want to ask Dr. Nandini Sharma Ji, if the MCD wants to perform a road-widening project from the Vidhayak Nidhi budget, and all preparations are complete, why do you not want to allow the work to begin?”
He continued, “People are in a great deal of discomfort. The public is troubled because hour-long traffic jams have become common. So I’d like to ask the BJP, and I’ll be holding an agitation in the following days. There would be agitation in Delhi wherever the MCD refuses to undertake the sanctioned work of MLAs under the pressure of BJP councilors. The BJP is counting down the days till it leaves the MCD, and many of its nefarious deeds have already been exposed to the public. It must be informed to the people of Delhi that the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs have given money from their funds, and it is the BJP councilors who are preventing the work from being completed. The issue is with the BJP’s presence in the MCD, not with the MCD itself. Under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, the Aam Aadmi Party has transformed Delhi’s schools and hospitals into world-class facilities. Whereas, under the BJP, the MCD is now littering Delhi. Despite taking money from the Vidhayak Nidhi, the BJP-ruled MCD does not do its work under pressure from BJP’s Councillors. The people of Delhi want to send a message to the BJP and their councilors that they only have two months left to do whatever they want. The public is ready to hand over the MCD to the Aam Aadmi Party.”
He added, “The MCD estimated a cost of Rs.24 lakhs for constructing a wall in front of SDA’s St. Paul’s School, and the Delhi Government’s Irrigation and Flood Department estimated a cost of Rs.7 lakhs for the same. You can see how they’ve increased by threefold. Both departments, one part of BJP’s ruled the municipal government and one part of AAP’s ruled the Delhi government, can be gauged from this fact. The department led by Arvind Kejriwal cites Rs 7 lakh, whereas the department led by the BJP estimates Rs 24 lakh. So the people of Delhi should see what kind of pillaging is going on in the BJP-ruled MCD. I would like to appeal to the people of Delhi to postpone all MCD work by 2 months so that you can save money and we can perform thrice the better job for you with the same twenty-three lakhs. The BJP should examine its conscience to see how it is treating the people of Delhi this unfairly and criminally.”