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Clean-up, graft fight in 10 ‘guarantees’ by AAP
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday promised to make Delhi garbage-free, clean and beautiful, and said corruption will be ended by taking building plan processes online and regularising minor property alterations through one-time penalties and other measures if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wins the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday promised to make Delhi garbage-free, clean and beautiful, and said corruption will be ended by taking building plan processes online and regularising minor property alterations through one-time penalties and other measures if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wins the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls.
Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of failing to deliver on the promises it made during the 2017 municipal elections and of stalling his government’s projects. He outlined the AAP’s “10 guarantees” ahead of the polls, promising to fix parking problems and stray cattle issues, among others.
Kejriwal pledged to repair MCD-run roads and revamp civic body-run schools, health care centres, and hospitals. He added that MCD parks will be beautified and all temporary workers will be regularised. Kejriwal promised timely payment of salaries, easy licensing, a conducive atmosphere for trade, and the creation of vending zones.
The BJP has controlled municipal corporations in the Capital over 15 years and the AAP is banking on the anti-incumbency factor.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra attacked the AAP over its 10 poll promises, saying: “Those who have warrants issued against them cannot give guarantees. They promised they would not join politics, not take government vehicles and accommodation, stop corruption, but they did just the opposite.”
Delhi BJP’s Election Committee head Ashish Sood said that AAP leaders were levelling baseless allegations to malign the image of MCD.
“CM Kejriwal has claimed to giving proper funds to MCD but people of Delhi want to know why his government has not started giving MCD funds as per recommendation of 4th and 5th Delhi Finance Commission despite accepting them in Delhi Assembly. CM Kejriwal should tell people why his government has been every cutting even civic funds of education, health & sanitation heads and is it not true that in 2021-22 the Kejriwal Government is giving MCD funds which were fixed for 2013-14 even as municipal expenses have doubled in between. The revenue of Delhi Government has doubled in last decade but its still giving old fixed funds to MCD,” Sood said.
The elections scheduled to be called over eight months back were aborted when the Centre decided to dissolve Delhi’s erstwhile municipal corporations and reunify them into a single MCD, a process that also involved whittling down the number of wards from 272 to 250.
The AAP has focused on garbage and poor sanitation as key issues in the run-up to the polls and attacked the BJP over them.
Kejriwal asked people to vote for those who work and not for those who create obstacles. He blamed the BJP for halting free yoga classes of the Delhi government and said the people suffered as a result.
The AAP releases a list of guarantees before every election, which in effect is its poll manifesto. In the 2020 Delhi assembly election and the Punjab assembly election earlier this year, the AAP announced certain guarantees for the people and the party believes those guarantees played a major role in winning the trust of the people.
On Thursday, the BJP released a “Vachan Patra” (a commitment letter) ahead of the MCD polls promising slum dwellers houses in multi-storey complexes near their clusters.
Kejriwal said the AAP’s guarantees never fail and added most of those outlined ahead of the 2020 assembly polls had been fulfilled. He slammed the BJP saying it is not serious about the promises it makes. “They release a Vachan Patra and do nothing for the next five years. Later, they change the name and bring a Sankalp Patra. The BJP will throw this Vachan Patra in the dustbin soon after the MCD election.”
He cited the BJP’s manifesto for the 2017 MCD polls and said it promised to make Delhi garbage-free. “...but Delhi is overflowing with garbage. They promised to bring funds directly from the Centre. They did not bring a penny,” Kejriwal said. He said the AAP government has already given a lot of money to the MCD.
Kejriwal said the BJP promised to fix landfill sites ahead of the 2017 polls. “Now the BJP leaders are saying the sites are everywhere, which means that they do not wish to fix them. They promised to clean the markets, but they are overflowing with garbage. They promised to eradicate corruption. They accepted their councillors were corrupt and dropped all of them. But the BJP did not send them to jail... Satyendar Jain [AAP minister] was sent to jail.”
He blamed the BJP for stopping the Delhi government from delivering ration at beneficiaries’ doorsteps.
“We will make the entire process of building plans easy, and take everything online so that there is a minimum human interface. Bribes for constructing buildings will also stop,” he said and promised a sustainable solution to the problem of inadequate parking space for vehicles.
He said traders are disappointed with the MCD and have to pay bribes for obtaining licences. “Traders are under severe distress because of MCD, they have to pay bribes for licences, and undergo hassles. We will simplify and digitise the system. We will end conversion and parking fees. We will end inspector raj. We will open up all the sealed shops. We will hear out all the concerns of traders and resolve them,” Kejriwal said, attempting to woo the trader community, a crucial vote bank.
“How to get funds [for the MCD] is my responsibility. Earlier when the BJP-ruled the MCD they would say that the Delhi government is not providing us with funds. The Central government has been holding on to the funds that it was to give to the Delhi government, but we continue to do our work. We do not stop our work just because the funds from the Centre have not come. We do not behave like young children and cry on small matters. The BJP just needs to stop the corruption that it indulges in and then all of a sudden there will be sufficient funds for all the projects undertaken by the MCD. Once we come to power, we will end all corruption and there will be sufficient funds for all the work,” Kejriwal said.
Replying to a question, Kejriwal said: “This time around the BJP will go on to win less than 20 seats from the 250 wards of the MCD. I can give this to the media in writing.”
The MCD is entrusted with civic governance, primary education, health services, and sanitation. In 2017, the AAP contested the MCD election for the first time and emerged as the second-biggest party.
