SDMC Mayor slams Delhi govt over clearing of unclaimed debris

New Delhi: South Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Narendra Chawla on Monday expressed surprise over a circular issued by the Public Works Department (PWD) and referred by the PWD Minister stating that onus of removing unclaimed debris on PWD roads lies on civic agencies.

Chawla said that the three MCDs have been facing financial a crunch as the state government is sitting over the funds meant for the civic bodies provided by the Union government in its budget for onward disbursal to the MCDs.

He also said that the allocation of funds meant for sanitation has been totally scrapped by the government, despite that fact that the number of colonies, residents, street and roads under the MCDs are sharply rising.

The challenges being faced by the MCDs are becoming tough day by day as it is becoming difficult to release monthly salary to the safai karmcharis on regular basis.

Chawla further alleged that debris generated due to construction of PWD projects have been piling up on the roads for months, eclipsing the cleanliness of the city and maligning the image of civic bodies.

Giving the details of reportedly unreleased funds by the city government, Chawla claimed the government is all out to put SDMC in a soup and called it "incompetent and a failure".

"It is withholding an amount of Rs 709.99 crore, allocation Rs 1,246.56 crore and actual grant Rs 536.63 crore, in respect of financial year 2017-18," he said.