NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday slammed the previous Aam Aadmi Party government in the Assembly, citing findings from CAG reports, and asserted that her administration is using “pesticides”, referring to her government’s reforms, to flush out “termites” affecting governance, development and execution of schemes and projects.
Highlighting various corrective steps taken by her 18-month-old government, Gupta said the Cabinet will soon function as an e-cabinet for which a proposal was moved.
During a debate in the Assembly regarding two Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reports on the finances and performance of the former Delhi government, Gupta alleged that it was seeped in “scams” and headed by a chief minister (Arvind Kejriwal), who she claimed had no departmental oversight yet made decisions without signing files.
Referring to a CAG report presented earlier in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly, Chief Minister Gupta asserted that the regulatory assets of discoms amassed during the previous administration have now escalated to `30,000 crore.
However, she promised that her government would not allow this burden to fall on the people. Claiming there was a “scam” even during payments for the power subsidy, and crores were paid to consumers who did not consume any electricity, Gupta alleged a “nexus” between the former Delhi government and the power discoms.
She said that the regulatory assets, which were `9,000 crore in 2019, rose to `27,000 crore in 2021 and currently sit at `38,000 crore. Gupta criticised opposition AAP MLAs for evading questions about who would repay this outstanding amount. “A time may come when this burden could fall on Delhi, but our government is fighting it in court. We will not let this burden impact the people adversely,” the chief minister said.
Gupta listed various findings from the CAG reports, including lapsed central grants to the Delhi government, announcements of schemes with no implementation, irregularities in tenders, and non-payment of GST refunds that occurred under AAP’s rule.
“We are now applying ‘pesticides’ to flush out the termites that have ravaged Delhi and exploited its residents,” she stated, highlighting her government’s efforts to restore order.Over the past 19 months, Gupta noted that her administration ensured that 19 CAG reports related to the previous government were finally presented in the Assembly. “These reports expose the previous regime, highlighting how they looted the people of Delhi. We have witnessed their scams in almost all the departments of the government,” she said.