BJP demands detailed probe in Chandni Chowk irregularities case

BJP demands a probe into Chandni Chowk redevelopment irregularities, calling for SRDC dissolution and audit, citing cost overruns and lack of local input.

A day after the Public Works Department (PWD) flagged irregularities in the Chandni Chowk redevelopment project, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday demanded that a larger probe be carried out in the case, also including the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC).

The 1.3-kilometre redeveloped stretch was inaugurated in 2021. (HT Archive)

The party demanded the dissolution of the SRDC and a full audit of its 10 years of operations. “The officers have always viewed Chandni Chowk only as a Mughal-era city, never understanding or appreciating its commercial identity. Ignoring reality, these officers have repeatedly proposed plans to develop Chandni Chowk as merely a tourist centre, often persuading chief ministers to approve impractical schemes,” Delhi BJP spokesperson and general secretary of Chandni Chowk Nagrik ManchPraveen Shankar Kapoor said.

After coming to power in 2015, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government began formulating development and beautification projects for Chandni Chowk without understanding or consulting its residents and traders, Kapoor claimed. “In 2018-19, despite opposition from local trade bodies and the Chandni Chowk Nagrik Manch, the then MLA Alka Lamba pushed the redevelopment project prepared by bureaucrats and had it implemented by the SRDC,” Kapoor added.

Officials from the SRDC did not respond to HT’s requests for a comment on the allegations.