AAP campaigns to highlight garbage issue in Delhi, BJP hits back

AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai on Tuesday said that the party will launch a month-long ‘Kooda Virodhi Abhiyan’ from September 14

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday announced a campaign against alleged lack of sanitation across the city even as the Centre-appointed delimitation commission published the revised list of municipal wards in the city and sought public feedback.

The BJP hit back at the AAP and said that instead of indulging in a blame game, Gopal Rai should first answer what has he done to remove the landfills in his capacity as the Delhi environment minister. (ANI)

The list which has been shared online by the commission marks an important step towards holding of municipal elections in Delhi. The polls were abruptly postponed after the centre announced its intention to unify the three civic bodies in the Capital. According to the revised list, the total number of wards in Delhi have been reduced from 272 to 250.

Until fresh elections are held, a centre-appointed Special Officer is overseeing the deliberative wing (or the elected house of the councillors).

AAP’s Delhi convener Gopal Rai on Tuesday said that the party will launch a month-long ‘Kooda Virodhi Abhiyan’ from September 14. “The AAP will expose the reality of BJP-ruled MCD’s garbage mountains before the public. AAP MLAs will reveal the reality of Ghazipur landfill on September 14th, Okhla landfill on September 15 and Bhalswa landfill on September 16. BJP will have to either clear garbage or pack its bags and leave Delhi and MCD forever,” Rai said.

During the campaign, the party will also invite people to come along with its MLAs to see the landfills, Rai said.

Sanitation is one of the key responsibilities of the municipal corporation. The BJP ruled the three civic bodies for three consecutive terms till the Centre announced unification plan in March. The three bodies were formally merged in May with the Parliament ratifying the amendments to the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act.

The BJP hit back at the AAP and said that instead of indulging in a blame game, Rai should first answer what has he done to remove the landfills in his capacity as the Delhi environment minister. It also alleged that the AAP government in Delhi deliberately starved the civic bodies of funds.

At a press conference, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said sanitation has worsened in the city in the past six months. “MCD shut down countless dhalaos [dumps] without any plan of action and opened private shops on the sites, forcing people to throw garbage on streets and in drains.”

Party MLA Atishi, who was also present at the press conference, said, “Going by the pace at which the BJP-ruled MCD’s are progressing, these landfills won’t be cleared within the next 200 years too. AAP will expose the debacles of the BJP’s 15-year-long tenure at MCDs . We are inviting everyone to come along and see the landfills themselves.”

Rai added that in the absence of elected councillors the MCD is in a disarray.

Delhi BJP Spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said under the direct rule of the Centre the MCD has expedited the segregation of waste at the three landfills in Delhi and has been able to clear tonnes of legacy waste.

“What contribution has Rai made as (Delhi) environment minister to clear the landfills. The AAP government left the three erstwhile civic bodes financially crippled which affected several projects, including the speedy removal of the landfill sites. However, for last four months under the new lieutenant governor, work on garbage disposal using trommel machines has gained pace, and the garbage dumps are likely be cleared soon,” said Kapoor.