NEW DELHI: A day after the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) decided to auction the heritage buildings in its jurisdiction for commercial activities for 20 years, AAP MLA Atishi on Wednesday accused the saffron party of “attempting to sell the city’s history and identity”.
“It appears that the SDMC believes that neither the future of Delhi, nor the education of our children, nor the history of Delhi, is important to them. They claim they are unable to manage and maintain heritage monuments and hence will lease out these monuments or sell them for peanuts. The first of these structures is a heritage building in Mehrauli that measures 280 square metres,” Atishi said.
She added, “For the past 15 years, the BJP has engaged in this type of corruption. However, it has now decided to sell every municipal corporation’s property, asset, the future of our children and the heritage of our city before April.”
Atishi said if the SDMC is unable to maintain Delhi’s heritage buildings, it should hand them over to the Delhi government. The Delhi Archaeology Department and Delhi Tourism will also maintain and manage these structures, as well as boost tourism in the city through these monuments.
“The Delhi government is committed to preserving the city’s history. What exactly is the BJP’s goal? To fill their own pockets, they sold everything one by one. These heritage buildings embody Delhi’s history and identity,” she said.
Atishi alleged that the BJP-controlled corporations have begun selling all the assets of MCDs one by one at throwaway prices to fill the pockets of saffron party councillors. She said the BJP has already sold a parking space and a school in Shalimar Bagh, 132 plots in Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, the Naiwala Commercial Complex and 13 Multi-Level Complexes.
Blaming SDMC for maintenance issues
Atishi said if the BJP-run SDMC is unable to maintain Delhi’s heritage buildings, it should hand them over to the Delhi government. Delhi Archaeology Department and Delhi Tourism will maintain these