Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday alleged a scam in the allocation of flats by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) under its Kalkaji slum rehabilitation project, saying the dwelling units meant for the poor are being given to ineligible people.
The Minister also accused Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who is the DDA Chairperson, of turning a blind eye to the corruption involving “top DDA officials” who he said come under the L-G.
The rehabilitation project, launched under the Centre’s flagship Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls in December 2022.
‘System foolproof’
The DDA dismissed the allegations and said it has a “foolproof” system in place to prevent fraudulent allotments.
In a statement, it alleged that its probe into the issue revealed that some people “associated with a political party” are working at the “behest of a leader” with the sole partisan purpose of “defaming” the urban body and its “popular slum rehabilitation scheme”.
The DDA will pursue the matter with the police and take recourse to judicial remedies if required, it added.
‘Nothing wrong’
Reacting to the allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva accused the Urban Development Minister of spreading misinformation against the statutory body.
The BJP leader questioned Mr. Bharadwaj as to why the Aam Aadmi Party government in the Capital did not allocate around 40,000 flats constructed under the Rajiv Awas Yojana during the tenure of the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government in Narela and Bawana and “left these to ruin”.
Published – October 13, 2024 01:01 am IST