Exposing a fresh case of corruption, AAP’s Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD Ankush Narang shared that the BJP cancelled the already approved Under Hill Road project after a failed “setting” between the Mayor and Standing Committee Chairman over bribes. “If the BJP had already passed it, why cancel it later — was the money not divided properly?” he asked, pointing to heavy transactions involving people from the Civic Centre to the BJP Delhi office. He asserted the private builder’s project, already rejected by North MCD, will be brought back once the “setting” is done.
AAP’s LoP in MCD House, Ankush Narang stated, “In Thursday’s Standing Committee meeting, the layout plan of ‘2, Under Hill Road’ was brought under Part-C of the agenda. This matter is directly linked to corruption and misuse of power under the BJP-led MCD. The property at 2, Under Hill Road belongs to a private builder, and there are several serious discrepancies in its layout plan. In the first Standing Committee meeting, the BJP did not include it in the agenda.”
He continued, “In the second meeting, AAP councillors strongly opposed the project. We pointed out that the property is not registered with the Revenue Department and that the Khasra numbers have been wrongly translated, while the actual Khasra number pertains to land located 3-4 kilometres away. The documents state the plot size as 5,400 square yards, whereas it is actually 11,800 square yards. Despite AAP councillors recording their dissent, the BJP passed the 2, Under Hill Road project in the Standing Committee.”
Highlighting procedural lapses, Ankush Narang said, “On Thursday, the minutes of the Standing Committee meeting were not shared with us. I wrote to the Municipal Secretary asking for a written explanation, but no response was given. Later, it was revealed that there was a lack of coordination between the Mayor and the Standing Committee Chairman with the builder of the 2, Under Hill Road project, and the proposal was therefore rejected. This raises a serious question — if everything was above board, why was the project first passed and then rejected?”
Showing court documents, he added, “In 2004, Shakuntala Gupta filed the case ‘Shakuntala Gupta vs Union of India’ and won it on 16 April 2009. The court recognised that the 5,400-square-yard property belonged to her. That property has since been divided. So how can the MCD approve a layout plan for 5,400 square yards now? In 2021, the North MCD had already rejected this same proposal. Court documents also confirm this.”
Questioning BJP’s intent, Ankush Narang asked, “When the CTP and MCD were aware of the wrong Khasra number, the unregistered property, and the pending court case, why was this agenda repeatedly brought forward? Did the CTP bring it with corrupt intentions? Was there collusion between the BJP and the builder? During the 20 August Standing Committee meeting, AAP had raised objections and had them recorded in the minutes, yet the BJP still passed it. Allegations are being made that there were large-scale financial dealings in the 2, Under Hill Road project. It is also being alleged that the Mayor and the Standing Committee Chairman were involved, and when the ‘distribution of money’ did not go as planned, the project was rejected.”
Referring to the latest developments, he shared, “During Thursday’s Standing Committee meeting, I asked whether this issue would be brought again. The reply I got was, ‘It’s possible.’ This means that once the arrangements are fixed, the matter could return. Allegations are being levelled that from the Civic Centre to the BJP’s Delhi state office, people are working to get this project passed. Allegations are that this is not a small transaction but a case of organised corruption.”
Taking on the BJP government, the MCD House LoP said, “The BJP’s so-called ‘four-engine government’ in Delhi does not care about the suffering of employees. Sanitation workers are not being regularised. No steps are being taken to address the rising cases of malaria and dengue. But when it comes to benefiting private builders — like in the 2, Under Hill Road project or the previously raised Asteroid Shelter project — the BJP acts swiftly.”
“Over the past 15 years, the BJP has set an example of corruption in the MCD. Is the same path being followed again? This is not just about one property, but a matter of systemic corruption and abuse of power. BJP leaders must answer why such faulty projects are repeatedly passed and why builders are being favoured,” he asserted.
Calling for accountability, Ankush Narang said, “I am writing to the Municipal Commissioner, Vigilance Department, and the Anti-Corruption Bureau, demanding an inquiry into the CTP’s role in this matter. Since this issue was already rejected by the Standing Committee in 2021, how did it return to the agenda again? A thorough investigation must be conducted into the matter and into all the allegations of financial dealings connected to it.”
