‘Citizens had to bend their heads in shame’: AAP, BJP spar over Delhi’s cleanliness rankings

Kejriwal on Friday asked officials of the BJP-ruled MCDs to work hard and improve the ranking. “Work hard. Sad to see the latest ranking of Delhi’s three municipal corporations in the cleanliness survey,” he told reporters.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he is saddened by the poor ranking of the three municipal corporations in Delhi in the central government’s cleanliness survey 2020 -- the result of which were shared on Thursday.

While the AAP controls the Delhi government, the BJP rules all three municipal corporations in Delhi. The next municipal elections are likely to be scheduled in 2022. (Arvind Yadav/HT PHOTO)

Kejriwal on Friday asked officials of the BJP-ruled MCDs to work hard and improve the ranking. “Work hard. Sad to see the latest ranking of Delhi’s three municipal corporations in the cleanliness survey,” he told reporters.

The three municipal corporations in Delhi bagged the 31st, 43rd and 46th ranks in the survey.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) national spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday also criticised the municipal corporations, accusing them of failing to keep the city clean, citing the central government’s cleanliness report.

“The BJP-ruled MCDs ranked very poorly at the cleanliness survey. SDMC was ranked 31, North MCD ranked 43 and EDMC 46, citizens had to bend their heads in shame for this. The MCDs have failed to ensure a decently clean Delhi. The MCDs had opened all the toilets for only one week for the survey, today all these toilets have been closed again. I appeal to the people of Delhi, to give the responsibility of civic bodies to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. We will build a cleanliness model for Delhi one the lines of quality education and health,” said Bharadwaj.

The BJP hit back at AAP’s comments.

The party’s Delhi unit spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “I do not wish to get involved in the dirty ranking bogey being raised by the AAP leaders as I feel today is the time to respect the hard work put in by municipal corporation Safai Karamcharis during last six months of the corona pandemic. To the AAP leaders saying that people want the Delhi government to take over sanitation service, I wish to ask if they will restore the water facility with the municipal corporation like the way it was till 1997. The Delhi Jal Board has failed and it is because of them that Delhi witnesses waterlogging after the slightest rain.”

The BJP-led municipal corporations blamed the AAP government for not releasing their “due” funds in time because of which many of the works and even salaries to the staff could not be paid timely.

South Corporation mayor Anamika Mithilesh said, “If we don’t have a budget, how are we supposed to keep on working. We still try to generate our own revenue to make things work. The Delhi government has no right to point fingers at us without releasing our funds due under the Fourth Delhi Finance Commission.”

The North and East corporation mayors too had said they were working to improve their rankings but did not have enough funds have majorly impacted their work.

North Corporation mayor had on Thursday said he will call a meeting to focus on waste segregation and how it could be bettered to improve their future rankings.