Atishi: MCD ruined under BJP, LG’s rule; govt struggled to kick start work

The Delhi minister made the remark after inspecting preparations for the summit Ring Road-Moti Bagh stretch

The Delhi government and the civic body, both led by the Aam Aadmi Party, worked in tandem to beautify the Capital and rejuvenate its infrastructure ahead of the G20 Summit, senior minister Atishi said on Sunday, as mayor Shelly Oberoi added that thousands of municipal workers and dozens of machines will be deployed to keep the city spotless during the global event.

Atishi said a lot of effort has been put in street-scaping, installing street furniture and art. (HT Photo)

Speaking after inspecting G20-related preparations on the Ring Road-Moti Bagh stretch, Atishi, who is also Delhi’s public works department (PWD) minister, said the state government and civic body had worked tirelessly for months to clean Delhi up before the Summit.

“The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has been focusing on cleaning Delhi up over the last few months,” she said.

The G20 Summit will be held on Saturday and Sunday.

She hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which governed MCD for 15 years, till December last year.

“The truth is that over the last 15 years, the BJP completely ruined the MCD and created a sanitation crisis in the city. Even during the one year that the MCD was under the central government [after the civic body was unified], Delhi was not cleaned up,” she added.

Atishi also attacked lieutenant governor VK Saxena for seeking credit for the revamp work

“When the LG claims that a large amount of garbage has been removed from the city, he should also clarify whose job it is to lift garbage… If the BJP and LG had done their job, we would not have faced so many problems in cleaning up Delhi,” she said.

The LG’s office did not respond to requests seeking comment.

In an interview with HT on Sunday, Saxena said around 15,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste was cleared from the city in the run-up to the G20 Summit.

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters, Delhi mayor Oberoi said the civic body has deployed over 12,000 field workers and 95 machines to keep Delhi ahead of and during the Summit.

At least 250 workers have been deployed around Pragati Maidan, which will host the summit.

“Around 52 road sweeping machines are cleaning Delhi roads. We have deployed a team of 250 workers to clean the areas around Rajghat, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Delhi Zoo and Bhairon Marg. Special attention is being paid to cleanliness around monuments such as Qutub Minar and Red Fort,” Oberoi said.

The civic body has also cleared up the drains and sewerage network around Pragati Maidan to ensure no floods take place in the event of rain.