NEW DELHI: Ahead of the civic polls in Delhi, the RSS’s think tank Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC), on Tuesday released a report listing the achievements of the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations. The report highlights the “best practices” followed by the corporations under 10 broad categories including health, education, ‘Swachh’ initiatives and measures taken to combat Covid-19, among others.
The report titled ‘Karm-Nishth Municipal Corporations of Delhi’ was released by Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta, Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, leader of opposition, Delhi Legislative Assembly, MPs Gautam Gambhir, Hans Raj Hans, Parvesh Verma and Ramesh Bidhuri along with the three mayors of Delhi.
There are 272 municipal wards in the city, of which 104 each fall in the North and South corporations, while 64 are under the East Corporation. BJP had won 181 seats in the 2017 civic polls. Civic polls are scheduled for April this year. BJP has ruled the corporations for 15 years. The report, in its preface, also targets the AAP-led city government for not releasing funds ‘due’ to the civic bodies under the Delhi Finance Commissions (DFC).
“Frequent tussles with Delhi government have had no impact on achieving the targets despite the lack of funds due to the municipal corporation. Moreover, despite resource constraints, there has been no attempt at increasing in tax rates,” Sumeet Bhasin, director of PPRC, said in the introductory note.
In the first chapter titled ‘Swachh Delhi’, the report highlights the work done on removing ‘dhalaos’ (three-walled garbage collection point in every locality). “The dhalaos have been a menace, as the delay in the collection of waste causes garbage spills and raises concerns on the outbreak of diseases. The corporations have taken a range of steps from regular monitoring, to fixing ‘zero waste hour’ at existing dhalaos, to door-to-door waste collection service.”
East Delhi MP Gambhir, under whose constituency the Ghazipur landfill falls, spoke about initiatives taken by the civic bodies for the management of solid waste. “The corporation has reduced total garbage being sent to Ghazipur site by 600 metric tonnes per day which cumulatively stands at 216,000 metric tonnes per year,” said MP Gambhir during the launch. Bidhuri said the South Corporation is taking care of more than 6,000 parks, has planted 1 lakh trees, purchased 75 electric vehicles and installed 123 charging stations.
Report on achievements also targets ruling AAP
Report highlighting work done by BJP-run MCDs, in its preface, also targets the AAP-led city government for not releasing funds ‘due’ to the civic bodies under the Delhi Finance Commissions (DFC)