"Big conspiracy hatched against people of Delhi": Saurabh Bharadwaj alleges corruption in de-silting work

New Delhi [India], July 28 : After the IAS coaching institute tragedy, Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday said that there is a "big conspiracy hatched" against the people of the national capital, alleging that despite giving evidence and complaining of corruption in de-silting, no action was taken against the officers involved by the LG VK Saexna.
The AAP minister said that the work of removing silt from drains and sewers in Delhi was not done properly due to the negligence of officers belonging to different departments including PWD, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. He said that the government can neither transfer these officers nor take any action against them, only LG VK Saexna can take action.
Bharadwaj shared a video of a meeting conducted on June 28 regarding desilting, in which Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, PWD Pr Secretary and CEO DJB Anbarasu, MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar and ACS IFC Naveen Chaudhary, Additional Chief Secretary Manish Gupta etc., were present along with AAP ministers Atishi and Gopal Rai.
In the meeting, Bharadwaj shared photos and videos of drains from different areas where desilting was not done and asked about the status of the third-party audit from the officers of different departments.
"All Photos and videos of drains were taken around June 23 to 25, before the monsoon started in Delhi," he posted on X.
"On a large scale, desilting is done only on paper. I'm not talking about everybody but on a large scale, it is done only on paper not on the ground. The tenders are distributed even then the desilting is not being done which implies there is corruption. So what is the status of the third-party audit?" the AAP Minister said in the meeting conducted on June 28.
Bharadwaj directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to conduct a third party audit of the claims of desilting of drains by agencies like PWD and MCD. The minister asked him to submit a list of drains which have been de-silted but nothing on done.
The video of the meeting was shared by the AAP Minister on X.
While sharing the video, Bharadwaj launched an attack on LG Saxena and said, "Truth of Delhi - Everyone is saying that the work of removing silt from drains and sewers in Delhi was not done properly. Due to this, there was waterlogging in the entire Delhi. Due to the same waterlogging, many people died due to electric shock in Delhi. Although it is the negligence of the coaching institute but a big conspiracy has been hatched against the people of Delhi. Although the department is not mine, the minister also agreed with the question. The government can neither transfer these officers nor take any action against them. Only LG Sahab can take action."
"A minister gave evidence and complained of corruption in de-silting, but PWD Secretary Anbarasu IAS did not take any action for a year. The next year, they provide the evidence again but they are not ready to visit the spot. Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar IAS, who is the Chief Vigilance Officer, did not take any action. The meeting was conducted on June 28, 2024. It is in the hands of LG sir to take action," he added.
Meanwhile, three students died following flooding in a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday.
Delhi Police arrested two persons, the owner and coordinator of the IAS coaching centre, where basement flooding due to rains claimed the lives of three students in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar.
According to the police, the victims have been identified as Shreya Yadav, a native of Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana; and Nivin Dalwin, a resident of Kerala's Ernakulam.
The Central Delhi incident comes days after a UPSC aspirant was electrocuted on a waterlogged street in the national capital.