Day after heavy rain brings parts of Delhi to halt, AAP alleges ‘desilting scam’ linked to ex-chief secy
The Delhi BJP, however, dismissed the allegations as a “political stunt”
3 min read
Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj (File)A day after heavy rain brought parts of the Capital to a standstill, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday accused the BJP-led government of destroying documents to shield former chief secretary Naresh Kumar in a “drain desilting scam”. The Delhi BJP, however, dismissed the allegations as a “political stunt.”
Citing an RTI reply, Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed Chief Secretary Dharmendra’s office denied receiving his complaint on the matter, despite copies being available with the reporters and on social media.
“This is a direct criminal offence…When I wrote this letter last year, I held a press conference and posted it on social media. The BJP government is now saying they have no record of it. This is an attempt to hide corruption, shield Naresh Kumar, and destroy evidence,” Bharadwaj alleged at a press conference.
The AAP leader criticised the BJP-led government for failing to resolve the Capital’s waterlogging woes. “Seven people died in one incident when a wall collapsed during rain yesterday. In another heart-wrenching case, a two-and-a-half-year-old drowned in an open sewer outside his house on Raksha Bandhan,” he said.
The AAP leader said that the Delhi High Court had ordered a third-party independent audit of desilting works, but claimed the audit had not been carried out despite repeated reminders to the Chief Secretary and letters to the Union Home Ministry.
“When I filed an RTI on July 21 seeking file notings, correspondence, and directions related to my June 13, 2024 complaint, the Chief Secretary’s office replied on July 29 that no such letter had been received. This is proof that documents are being destroyed,” Bharadwaj said.
In response, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that the Kejriwal government had a poor record on desilting. “Before accusing us, Saurabh Bharadwaj should clarify whether it’s not true that between 2015 and 2018, due to the Kejriwal government’s failure to carry out desilting, an NGO had to approach the Delhi High Court demanding an audit,” Sachdeva said.
He alleged that “scams” in the name of desilting were committed annually between 2015 and 2024 during AAP rule, and “under the protection” of the AAP government, involving officials from the Public Works Department, Flood Control Department, and Delhi Jal Board, along with local MLAs.
Sachdeva also questioned Bharadwaj’s claim about the missing letter. “The reality of the Kejriwal government was that they would tweet about writing letters to the central government or the LG, but conveniently ‘forget’ to send them through official channels. Possibly, Bharadwaj did the same — because government offices do not lose letters,” he said.
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