AAP protests against Novelty cinema deal, alleges corruption

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the lease sale of Novelty Cinema plot has been done by North MCD by an open transparent tender.

cores of supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday staged a demonstration outside the head office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in central Delhi, alleging corruption in the municipal corporations in Delhi (MCD) and sale of assets at undervalued rates.

New Delhi, India - Aug. 18, 2021: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers protest against BJP and MCD over the selling of Novelty Cinema, near BJP office, in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday, August 18, 2021. (Photo by Sanjeev Verma/ Hindustan Times) (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

“Aam Aadmi Party gheraoed BJP headquarters after MCD sold the Novelty Cinema land worth ₹200 crore for only ₹34 crore. The BJP knows it is going to be defeated in MCD elections, so it wants to fill its pocket by selling off public properties through MCD. People of Delhi want that an honest government, like the Kejriwal government, be brought into the MCD,” said the AAP’s national secretary Pankaj Gupta.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said the lease sale of Novelty Cinema plot has been done by North MCD by an open transparent tender. “Going by commercial circle rate, the plot is worth ₹19.50 crore while the plot has been lease sold at almost double the circle rate for ₹35 crore,” he said.

Kapoor said that if the AAP government feels that plot is being sold at below market value then it should come forward and help the cash starved north Delhi civic body by buying the plot at their self-claimed market value.

The BJP has also said that the plot has a much larger floor area ratio (FAR) than the nearby plots.

While the AAP is in charge of the Delhi government, the BJP rules the three municipal corporations in the Capital.

Polls to the three municipal corporations in Delhi are due next year.