MCD Commissioner working at BJP’s behest, alleges AAP; Mayor shoots off letter to Amit Shah

Addressing mediapersons, Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, flanked by Khichi, accused Kumar of working at the behest of the BJP. Kumar, however, said these were “motivated” allegations. “They do not deserve a reply,” he told The Indian Express.

The additional user charges, levied based on the Union government’s Solid Waste Management Bye-Laws, 2017, were approved in 2018, but have not come into effect till now. However, the MCD levied the charges from April 1.

“MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar is working entirely at the behest of BJP’s agenda. If Ashwani Kumar is not removed from his post immediately, it will be clear that the BJP government at the Centre is backing him,” said Bharadwaj.

“Without the approval of the Mayor or the House, user charges have been imposed arbitrarily. Even after the Mayor intervened and objected, nothing was stopped. A letter was written to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday for the withdrawal of the additional user charges. On Friday, the Mayor wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding Ashwani Kumar’s removal,” he added.

Khichi added, “These charges are an extra burden on the people of Delhi, who are already struggling with inflation.”

The clash comes just weeks before the mayoral elections. Friday’s spat was the latest in a long history of tension between AAP and Kumar, a 1992-batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre who was appointed to the MCD last June.

In his bureaucratic career, Kumar had held key roles in the Delhi government – in the Delhi Jal Board, as the environment secretary, and the divisional commissioner. However, his working relationship with the previous AAP government had often been marked by public confrontations.

In 2017, while he was in the Delhi Jal Board, AAP accused him of “stalling” development works, especially the desilting of drains. Then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had called for action against Kumar for “dereliction of duty,” and the Delhi Assembly’s Privilege Committee had initiated proceedings. Kumar had later secured a stay from the Delhi High Court.

In July 2023, tension had flared again. Then revenue minister Atishi had accused Kumar – who was serving as the divisional commissioner – of ignoring her calls and messages on urgent administrative matters. Kumar had refuted the charges, calling them politically motivated.