DDA rebuttal to AAP on Delhi Ghazipur drowning case

The DDA statement came two days after the AAP targeted the authority and LG VK Saxena — under whose jurisdiction the body falls — for the deaths

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Monday said that its decision to pay ₹20 lakh as compensation to the legal heir of a woman and her three-year old son, who died after falling into a half-open under-construction drain in Ghazipur on July 31, was purely a “humanitarian gesture”, rejecting claims that it was responsible for the incident.

On July 31, Tanuja, 22, and her son Priyansh, 3, died after they fell into the Ghazipur drain near Khoda Colony. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The DDA statement came two days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) targeted the authority and lieutenant governor VK Saxena — under whose jurisdiction the body falls — for the deaths.

On July 31, Tanuja, 22, and her son Priyansh, 3, died after they fell into the Ghazipur drain near Khoda Colony. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) alleged that the part of the drain where the incident took place was under the jurisdiction of DDA, which, in turn, alleged that the drain was under MCD’s jurisdiction.

Later, on September 5, DDA told the Delhi high court that it will pay ₹20 lakh as compensation to the legal heir of the woman and her three-year old son on humanitarian grounds, without admitting any liability regarding the incident.

The AAP, however, remained firm in its stand, saying the drain came under the jurisdiction of DDA.

“The apathy of the LG of Delhi towards the people of Delhi is evident from the fact that he never bothered to visit the site; chose not to stand with the bereaved family by washing his hands of his responsibility by claiming that the drain did not come under DDA’s jurisdiction… The tragic deaths occurred where a large portion of an under-construction drain was left uncovered,” the AAP said in a statement.