NEW DELHI: The tussle between the Delhi units of AAP and BJP, ahead of the by-elections to municipal corporations, heated up on Thursday when AAP member Durgesh Pathak accused North Municipal Corporation of Delhi (NMCD) Mayor Jai Prakash’s son of encroaching upon government land. In return the BJP refuted the allegations and said the AAP should not stoop down to “petty politics”.
According to Pathak, the North MCD mayor “misusing” his position did not take any action over the construction of a fourstorey building in Sadar Bazar area, which is coming upon the land allegedly belonging to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).
“This whole building is situated on an encroached plot. It is unfortunate that the mayor of the BJP-ruled North MCD has occupied this land which is of the DUSIB. The MCD did not take any action against this building because Jai Prakash is the mayor. The DUSIB has sent third notice to the MCD against the mayor and his son,” said AAP MCD election in-charge Pathak.
However, Jai Prakash rejected the allegations and said that his son Ritesh Chhawri is custodian of the property which he obtained from previous owners and has been paying rent to the DUSIB. The DUSIB mostly build residential flats for economically-weaker sections of the society after getting land from the DDA and the MCD. According to the AAP, On 1 July 2020, DUSIB wrote a letter to the MCD noting that its land has been illegally occupied. The DUSIB also sent a notice to the MCD after a survey of the construction.