The Hindu : New Delhi News : MLAs, Councillors urged to inspect drains

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 04, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

MLAs, Councillors urged to inspect drains

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, AUG. 3. Accepting that a large number of areas in the Capital had been inundated by the monsoon rain that lashed Delhi on Monday, the Urban Development Minister, A.K. Walia, today urged the area MLAs and Councillors to hold joint inspections of drains to ensure their proper cleaning and prevent misuse of public money.

The public at large also has a responsibility in this regard and we need to sensitise them on this issue.

Replying to the short duration discussion on the issue of cleaning of drains and better sanitation by the MCD moved by Kiran Walia and Tarvinder Singh Marwah (Congress) and Karan Singh Tanwar (BJP), the Urban Development Minister said the MLAs and Councillors have to join hands to put an end to the continued allegations of misuse of funds for cleaning of drains.

He said both the elected representatives should hold joint inspections of drains in their area to ensure proper implementation of this programme every year.

At the same time, Dr. Walia said that people of Delhi will also have to cooperate and stop dumping garbage and plastic bags into the drains that often choked the entire system leading to waterlogging situation in a large number of areas.

Dr. Walia said that reports of water-logging had been received from a large number of areas including the underpasses at Zakira, Ashok Vihar and also at Azadpur, Yamuna Vihar, Model Town and various other points.

However, he said the Minto Road and Tilak Road under-bridges that faced a perpetual problem of water-logging every year were saved from this problem for the first time this year. Dr. Walia said that 134 portable pumps, 60 big pumps and 84 permanent pumps were at work to deal with the situation.

In order to tackle the problem of power cuts, 78 generators had been installed at various places to ensure that water pumps functioned normally.

However, Dr. Walia said it was the job of the local representatives and people to ensure that unscrupulous contractors did not hijack work of cleaning drains.

The suggestion by Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (NCP) that the matter of issuing clearance certifying that drains had been cleaned should not rest with the Councillor only and the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) should also be involved in this process was greeted with the thumping of desks by members in the House. Initiating the discussion, Ms. Walia welcomed the move by the Corporation to make an on-the-spot assessment of the silt dumped by the contractors at landfill sites.

She said the photography of this silt dumping has led to prevention of corruption and that was the precise reason that the money spent on cleaning of drains had come down which was a big achievement.

The Leader of the Opposition, Jagdish Mukhi, also spoke on the subject and lashed out at the MCD and the Delhi Government for its failure to ensure proper cleaning of drains.

He said corrupt contractors and officials had siphoned funds meant to clean the drains and the widespread waterlogging and flooding was an example of the callous attitude of the authorities.

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