Urban Development Minister takes stock of sanitation in Punjabi Bagh

Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood on Monday inspected the cleanliness situation, waste management and sanitation facilities in Ward 92 (Punjabi Bagh).

Accompanied by area MLA Kailash Gangwal and officials from the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MC), Public Works Department (PWD), Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the minister visited Shivaji Enclave, R Block shanties, Rajiv Gandhi Camp and surrounding localities.

During the visit, Sood interacted with residents and instructed officials to strengthen garbage collection, desilting and sanitation efforts.

“A clean Delhi and a healthy Delhi can be achieved only through our collective efforts,” he said.

Sood said the government had placed sanitation at the top of its agenda, and ministers were personally monitoring on-ground conditions citywide.

He blamed the previous administration for the Capital’s “deteriorated civic state”, saying: “Due to the irresponsible functioning of the municipal corporation during the ten years of Aam Aadmi Party’s rule and the last two and a half years, Delhi has been pushed into a pitiable and paralysed condition.”

At Shivaji Enclave, the Minister expressed displeasure over multiple garbage dumps, and directed the MC to identify land for a designated dumping point.

He instructed officials to procure additional trucks and mini-tippers to speed up waste removal, and divert garbage from Okhla to the Bhalswa landfill to increase turnaround time.

He ordered the immediate cleaning and repair of a long-neglected drain. Inspecting a public toilet near the Jan Seva Kendra in R Block, Sood directed the DUSIB to take back the site from the MC, remove encroachments, and build a three-storey toilet complex with separate facilities for women by February 20.

The minister also flagged the issue of illegal bore-wells, roadside vehicle washing and abandoned vehicles causing obstructions.