Delhi BJP alleges scam in drain desilting work, seeks CBI probe

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 1
The Delhi BJP has alleged a scam worth hundreds of crores in the desilting of drains across the city, implicating high-level officials of the Delhi Government, including the Chief Minister, ministers and MLAs.
During a press conference on Thursday, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter, alleging that widespread corruption has led to the collapse of Delhi’s sewer system and stormwater drainage.

Sewers not being cleaned
The Irrigation Department, Public Works Department and the Delhi Jal Board, responsible for cleaning drains and sewers, have not disposed of even a single truck of drain silt at Singhola Khampur or any other landfill site, which makes it clear that drains and sewers are not being cleaned. — Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi BJP president

“There has been a scam worth hundreds of crores in the desilting of drains in Delhi. The Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs, contractors and some lower-level officials of the Delhi Government are all involved in this, and a CBI investigation is necessary,” said Sachdeva. He pointed to the recent flooding in Rajinder Nagar as a direct consequence of this alleged corruption. Sachdeva accused key government departments of failing to dispose of a significant amount of silt from the city’s drains at designated landfill sites, such as Singhola Khampur.
“The Irrigation Department, Public Works Department and the Delhi Jal Board, responsible for cleaning major drains and sewers, have not disposed of even a single truck of drain silt at Singhola Khampur or any other landfill site, which makes it clear that drains and sewers are not being cleaned,” he said.
Highlighting the scale of the issue, Sachdeva cited data from previous years. “In 2022, the Irrigation Department removed 3 lakh metric tonnes of silt, the PWD removed 2 lakh metric tonnes, the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi removed 2 lakh metric tonnes and the Delhi Jal Board removed 40,000 metric tonnes. By this estimate, 8 to 9 lakh metric tonnes of silt should have been removed in 2024. The question arises: if silt was removed, where did this 9 lakh metric tonnes go? Or was the silt not removed at all?” he questioned.
“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Kejriwal government has crossed all limits of corruption, and the newly emerged desilting scam will be the final nail in the coffin for this government,” Sachdeva added.
Sachdeva explained that an internal BJP committee, including MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Municipal Corporation Raja Iqbal Singh and other senior members, was formed to investigate the increased waterlogging in Delhi over the past two years. The committee’s findings, he said, corroborated the party’s claims that the desilting operations were either grossly inadequate or entirely non-existent.
“Our internal committee had warned us around June 20 that the desilting of drains and sewers was not being carried out by any relevant department of the Delhi Government or the MCD. We alerted the government through a press conference about the same, but it did not take notice,” Sachdeva said.