Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena has said that though preparations and planning in the Capital were going on for the past six months, extensive work was carried out across the city in the last two months leading to the G20 Summit on September 9-10. The LG said that all efforts have been made to beautify and ramp up civic infrastructure at a massive scale. He added that the administration aims to sustain the momentum, and replicate efforts made for the summit to renovate infrastructure across the city after the global event, beginning September 16, calling the Summit an opportunity to refurbish and revive civic infrastructure. He also told HT in an interview that his rocky relationship with the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government will not be a hurdle in building a better city.
Delhi LG VK Saxena at Raj Niwas, in New Delhi on Saturday. (Raj K Raj/HT)
The G20 Summit is the first big international event in Delhi since the Commonwealth Games? What was the focus and the scale of preparations this time?
Representatives of 40 countries and 20 heads of State are coming to Delhi for the Summit. The scale is huge. Our preparation started about six months ago but intensive work was carried out in the last two months. Delhi’s infrastructure was weak, footpaths were in a bad condition, and greenery was not sufficient. In the last two months, around 15,000 tonne of municipal solid waste was cleared from the city. You can imagine how dirty the city was with central verges and footpaths full of waste and garbage. Once the roads were cleaned, the vacant spaces were repaired, renovated and beautified.
Delhi has a problem of multiplicity of agencies which are either under the Centre or the state government. How were they brought together?
The biggest challenge in Delhi is that of coordination. So, there was a need for one person to lead the efforts, and I tried to bring the agencies together. I must commend that all agencies put in their best efforts in preparations for the summit.
Was collaborating with the state government proved to be a challenge? Recently, you and the ministers inspected the same projects separately.
I wanted that the departments and the government should work together. The first meeting, about three months ago, was also attended by the chief minister, where I said that we should all work together. Things changed after that but we continued with the efforts and the results are evident now. Last week, I saw some ministers inspecting the same sites that we were prepared. They should also take stock.
How do you see the restrictions imposed on traffic and markets? Was it necessary?
We are blocking a small part of New Delhi. Even in that area, there is no restriction on the movement of residents and identity cards are being issued to staff on duty. There were several meetings after which we decided that a limited area would be blocked, instead of shutting the entire city that was the initial plan.
The markets have also been closed, but only for the convenience of people. During G20, there will be movement of carcades with heads of State for which roads may have to be closed for hours leaving people stuck in traffic. It is better if they stayed at home. Additionally, people should understand that an event of this scale is happening for the first time in the country. They should take responsibility understand the importance of the event for their country and its image.
There is sufficient security arrangements and there is no concern about safety. We are prepared to handle the situation if some groups that do not support the event and plan to protest. However, we have not received any requests or inputs regarding any agitation.
Much of the infrastructure upgrade is in terms of beautification by adding fountains, potted plants, street art. Recently, PWD filed police complaints after fountain valves were stolen. What are the plans for sustaining and protecting the infrastructure?
When I took oath, I said that I would try to make Delhi a beautiful city of flowers. The fountains, sculptures, and greenery are all permanent assets of Delhi. I also request that people should treat them as assets of their city and help maintain it, rather than vandalise it. The efforts will be made to protect it and we also will have to change mind set. Should we not create assets because someone will steal it? We have placed about 7 lakh potted plants on the streets. Can people take away all of those? The miscreants will eventually fall in line. It’s part of the game, and we can’t be scared of them.
Will these beautification efforts continue after the after the G20 Summit?
Our plan is that from September 16, after the G20 Summit is over, we will take one road at a time and give it a makeover. We have fountains, artefacts and sculptures in stock that we will install at more locations. The broken road patches will be repaired and areas prone to waterlogging will also be improved. I hope to begin with the Ring Road which is in a pretty bad condition. Once G20 is over and all the heads of State leave, we will assess the condition of various stretches with the officials and the ground staff. We will then launch a fresh drive.
Will there be any challenges with respect to coordination with the government?
There are no challenges. I have been handling this for 14 months now. Everything is smooth with the government. The chief minister comes and has tea with me. I have no problems with anyone. I keep busy with my work. You should ask the CM if he has any complaints about me.
How did the July flood impact G20 preparations?
The flood was unprecedented, and as I have mentioned before, also avoidable. Delhi (Yamuna) has seen higher water levels but this time the city was flooded despite lower water level river in the river. Because of the flood water, Rajghat was completely inundated, roads and footpaths got damaged, Ring Road was destroyed and plants wilted. The big challenge afterwards was cleaning and draining of water, which again was handled well by all agencies together.
A G20 side event at Asita East earlier this year sent out a message for ecosystem restoration. However, it has hit a roadblock. What is the rejuvenation plan now?
Of the 57km stretch along the Najafgarh drain, 22km were completely cleaned in the last six-seven months. We removed 15,000 tonne of municipal solid waste and made the area green. There was a training session of over 500 temple priests who were informed why they should not be throwing the temple waste into the river, and Jama Masjid also issued an appeal asking people to keep the river clean. Small, but effective interventions were made and the impact was visible. All the work was initiated after the National Green Tribunal issued an order January for cleaning the Yamuna, consequently a high-level committee was formed under me. However, the state government contested this order in the Supreme Court and the court stayed the work. So, we had to stop all the efforts. I am saddened that the immense work that we had done in about nine months was hindered this way. If the state government was serious about cleaning the Yamuna, they should have taken it up themselves rather than stopping ongoing efforts.
As Delhi hosts the G20 Summit, what, according to you, will be the lasting impact of the event on Delhi?
All international guests who are coming to Delhi should witness the beauty and enjoy its hospitality. They will want to visit the city again and again. Our economy will prosper, if more foreign guests visit the city. The people will get more employment, businesses will grow. I know how much business is being created with such an event happening in Delhi. I would want that to continue.
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