NEW DELHI: Once again the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has goofed up an ambitious project aimed at providing relief from the stray cattle menace in the Capital. In its inquiry, a civic body committee has found that almost 50 per cent of the plots allotted so far in the upcoming Ghogha dairy project at Narela in North-West Delhi have been fraudulently given to people who have nothing to do with the dairy business.

The four-member committee of senior municipal councillors has already submitted its report to Mayor Farhad Suri seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the matter. The immediate fallout of the report has been the transfer of Veterinary Officer (Headquarters) S. K. Yadav who is said to be the "kingpin" behind the bungling.

Interestingly, the committee members point out that this could be just the tip of an iceberg as the Veterinary Officer withheld some key information demanded by them. "We were not given names of at least four allottees and some crucial files which clearly indicates that some more revelations are to be made in the case. A project planned for betterment of the city has been mired in controversy even before its initiation," said a committee member and senior Congress Councillor Ajit Chaudhary.

Pointing towards the unfair manner in which the plots were allotted, Mr. Chaudhary said in September 2004, the civic body had asked for applications from dairy owners operating from urban and urbanised villages.

But still, the allotments were made as late as mid-2006 without getting any proper approval from competent authorities. Similarly of the 5,955 applications submitted at the zonal level, only 44 applicants were given plots, while of 1,319 applications given to Veterinary Officer (Headquarters), a whopping 1,276 applicants were given plots at Ghogha, he said.

According to Mr. Chaudhary, of the 1,276 plots distributed by Mr. Yadav, 664 were given to fake applicants, which includes at least a dozen plots allotted to those living in group housing societies. Similarly eight plots were given to four members of a butcher's family who had no cattle, while another eight plots were allotted to a family of traders.

"All this is happening when not only a High Court-appointed committee but Municipal Commissioner A. K Nigam is routinely monitoring the entire process," he added.

Blaming the Congress-ruled civic body of indulging in corrupt practices and not allotting plots to deserving dairy owners, senior Bharatiya Janata Party Councillor Arti Mehra, who is one of the members in the committee, said the maximum allotment were made to those living in two zones -- Rohini and Narela -- whereas the entire city is badly affected with the stray cattle menace that not only hinders smooth movement of traffic but also endangers the lives of pedestrians.

In the recent past at least two residents lost their lives after they were gored by bulls.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail