MCDs fail to utilise Swachh Bharat fund in national Capital

Even as the Modi government completes two years, its brainchild Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan is lying in shambles in the Capital. Despite leading a high octane campaign and making tall claims to make India clean, the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) have failed to construct 20 per cent toilets on ground as a part of the drive. 

Officials in the Corporation blame the guidelines of Swachh Bharat that demands the MCD to bear 80 per cent of the share of expenditure in constructing the projects and stated that the Corporations are financially incapable to share the expenses.

Moreover, the budget allocated for Swachh Bharat mission has been lying unused. While Rs 41.98 

crore was allocated to East MCD, North MCD was released Rs 46.27 crore, and Rs 31.76 crore to the SDMC under Swachh Bharat. Officials in the three MCDs claims that they are unable to carry out construction as the Union Development Ministry’s guidelines for Swachh Bharat mission ask for 80 per cent share in expenses from MCD whereas, the remaining 20 per cent are to be taken from the by Swachh Bharat fund. 

“There are technical issues due to which we cannot spend the funds under Swachh Bharat. East MCD is already reeling under cash crunch. The guidelines state that we should give a share of money in construction which we cannot manage to bear,” said a senior official of East MCD requesting anonymity.

Training gun on the BJP-ruled civic agencies, the Opposition Congress have said that the ruling party have forgotten PM Modi’s much-hyped Swachh Bharat campaign as they hardly talk about execution of the programme. “As the agencies have not paid funds to their contractors due to fund shortage, they can not assign new projects. Forget about new toilets, condition has deteriorated up to an extent where agencies are facing difficulties to clean the city as they are not paying salary to sanitation workers,” said Mukesh Goel, Leader of Opposition in North Corporation.

In the name of development, the MCDs have only constructed 42 Community Toilet Complexes, 125 public toilets and 70 ladies toilets even as the Swachh Bharat completes two years on August 15. The Corporations are yet to construct 42 toilets in North MCD, 74 others in East MCD and 201 private toilets.

As a part of the Swachh Bharat mission, the Corporations were supposed to not only come up with Community Toilet Complexes but also make  Individual Household Toilets and revamp the present toilets in a bid to do away with open defecation in the Capital. However, the city presents a sordid state of affairs. Contrary to the officials’ claims, hardly any toilets have been constructed. The crumbling toilets present a totally different picture with the stink making them barely usable for the people.