NEW DELHI: The Delhi Industries Minister, Mangat Ram Singhal, is in the line of fire of the party high command and the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, for mishandling the issue of industrial relocation as well as failure to issue a notification with regard to the areas that have more than 70 per cent industries. It is understood that the party leadership has sought a status report on the issue and the allegations made against Mr. Singhal in the Coordination Committee meeting.

Insiders in the Delhi Government informed that Mr. Singhal has been receiving flak over the relocation of industrial units and the failure of his department to do the needful. The New Delhi Member of Parliament, Ajay Maken, and the DPCC president, Ram Babu Sharma, in the coordination panel meet raised the matter. It is learnt that even the Chief Minister told the panel that she was "unhappy'' with the manner in which Mr. Singhal had been handling the matter and issuing statements on industrial relocation.

The matter of industrial relocation had generated a lot of heat in the Congress and it was the turning point in the relationship between Ms. Dikshit and Mr. Maken after which they parted ways. A large number of Congress legislators have also criticised the Chief Minister and the bureaucracy for not doing enough to resolve the issue. In fact, one of the members of the coordination panel had said that Mr. Singhal was working as a "property agent'' seeking to sell the Bawana Industrial Estate to the highest bidder without looking into the humanitarian aspects of relocation.

Embarrassment

Observers are of the view that the statements of Mr. Singhal have not only been a source of embarrassment to the Delhi Government but also for the Congress party. They feel not only Mr. Singhal but also even the working of some other Ministers of the Delhi Government had not been up to the mark, a fact that has been time and again stated by Ms. Dikshit herself after the Cabinet review meetings. There is a general complaint among party cadres as well as the elected representatives that the Ministers were ineffective in work and the officers hardly listen to them.

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