BJP did nothing to make Delhi garbage-free, says AAP

The AAP reactions came hours after Union home minister Amit Shah accused the party of step-motherly treatment towards the erstwhile south, north and east MCDs

New Delhi Hours after Union home minister Amit Shah accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of step-motherly treatment towards the erstwhile south, north and east Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs), chief minister Arvind Kejriwal hit back, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was responsible for the landfill crisis in the city.

AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said the “garbage mountains” of Delhi came about due to mismanagement by BJP-led corporations. (ANI file)

Kejriwal said Shah has asked for three years to make Delhi garbage-free, while nothing has been done during the last 15 years when the BJP ruled the MCDs. “Why should people trust you? You will not be able to do it. Now we will show how Delhi can be made garbage free,” he said, adding that at the next MCD elections, the people of Delhi will decide whether they want a city “full of garbage or a clean and tidy city”.

AAP legislator and chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said the “garbage mountains” of Delhi came about due to mismanagement by BJP-led corporations. “The BJP-led MCD was tasked with managing waste but still Delhi is categorised as one of the most unsanitary cities of our country,” he said, adding that according to government data over the last 34 months, MCD has on an average cleared 5,315 MT garbage per day through bio-mining, while 4,931 tons of garbage is added.

“At this rate, it will take 197 years to clear the garbage mountain. BJP is responsible for this mess,” Bharadwaj said.

Senior AAP leader and legislator Atishi said the core job of the MCD was to “collect, process and dispose off” the waste in the city. “During the last 15 years, BJP did nothing to manage the waste in Delhi and suddenly on the eve of elections, BJP has woken up to the garbage issue. Home minister Amit Shah has now sought another three years but he must first answer why nothing was done over the last 15 years,” she said.

Atishi also claimed that the MCD plans to set up 16 more landfills in the city -- an allegation that the AAP has been making against the corporation, which the civic body has repeatedly denied.

The BJP rejected the accusations, pointing to the recent penalty imposed by the National Green Tribunal on the Delhi government.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “The Delhi government has extended no cooperation to MCD in clearing the garbage mountains... Only last week, NGT in an order castigated the Delhi government for not cooperating with the MCD in clearing the landfill sites and had imposed a fine of ₹900 crore on the government. NGT’s fine imposition shows that Delhi government has not fulfilled its responsibility towards the people of Delhi.”

MCD response has been sought and awaited