Cleanliness drive a photo op: Cong

Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Devender Yadav on Tuesday came down heavily on the BJP-led “triple engine” government in the Capital, calling the recently launched ‘mega cleanliness drive’ a mere publicity gimmick with no real intention of addressing the city’s mounting waste crisis.

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Calling the drive a “photo opportunity” for BJP leaders, Yadav accused the party of ignoring the long-pending demands of sanitation workers, particularly the urgent need to fill thousands of vacant posts in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

“Instead of concrete action, Delhi has only received slogans and staged broom-wielding by CM Rekha Gupta, the Mayor and the NDMC chairman,” he said, referring to the symbolic ‘shramdan’ undertaken by civic leaders.

Citing recommendations from the National Capital Region Planning Board, Yadav said Delhi needs around 2 lakh sanitation workers to meet the recommended ratio of 3 to 6 workers per 1,000 residents. “Right now, the city has just 60,000. This massive gap is directly responsible for the poor sanitation and overflowing garbage across the city,” he said.

Taking aim at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yadav said the much-publicised ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ has failed to clean Delhi, which continues to struggle with its towering landfill sites at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Okhla.

“Neither the BJP, which ran the MCD for 15 years, nor AAP has made any meaningful effort to eliminate these mountains of waste,” he said.

He also pointed to the May 2 heavy rainfall that submerged several parts of the city, calling it a glaring example of the BJP’s civic mismanagement.