The Central Zone is drowning in filth, and the BJP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is nowhere to be seen. Leader of Opposition (LoP) in MCD House, Ankush Narang, has stated that if garbage isn’t cleared by Wednesday, councillors will dump the waste right outside the Mayor’s house. With roads turning into ticking health bombs ahead of the monsoon, the fight for Delhi’s cleanliness is now at the Mayor’s doorstep.
LoP in MCD House, Ankush Narang, submitted a memorandum to MCD Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh, stating, “My office has received two letters highlighting a severe shortage of garbage tipper vehicles and an extremely poor state of cleanliness. These letters were sent by Sarika Chaudhary, Councillor from Ward 142 (Daryaganj), and Pankaj Gupta, Councillor from Ward 168 (Sangam Vihar). They have urged an increase in the number of garbage collection vehicles in their wards and an improvement in sanitation services.”
He continued, “I had raised the issue of shortage of tippers and garbage spillage in the Central Zone during the House session. The Mayor responded that the work would only begin once the Standing Committee is formed. But when will it be formed, and when will it meet? Even after it passes a proposal, the process would still take 45 to 60 days. That means two and a half to three more months will be lost. The BJP has already been in power for two months — if three more months go like this, people will be forced to live in garbage for five whole months. Is this what BJP’s so-called mega cleanliness drive looks like?”
Highlighting the grim situation across Central Zone wards, the LoP stated, “There are 25 councillors in the Central Zone — 7 from AAP and the rest from BJP. Even BJP councillors are frustrated with the garbage piled up at dump sites and on roads. Earlier, there used to be 10 tippers for garbage collection in several wards of the Central Zone, now only 2 remain. In some wards that earlier had 15 tippers, only 3 are left. Due to this shortage, garbage is not being picked up and is rotting on the streets, causing immense hardship for passersby.”
Detailing specific areas affected, he continued, “In Ward 142 of Daryaganj, areas like Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, Nizamuddin West, Nizamuddin East, Sundar Nagar, Jangpura-A, Jangpura-B, Pragati Maidan, Anna Nagar (near ITO), and Daryaganj have not had garbage cleared from the dump sites for many days. The situation is alarming.”
Highlighting the difference between AAP and BJP administrations, Ankush Narang said, “During the AAP government, these roads used to be clean. You would never find garbage spread like this. But now, roads in the Central Zone are overflowing with garbage and are turning into vulnerable points. The condition of dump sites is even worse — they are overflowing, with garbage spilling over onto the roads. All you see everywhere is trash.”
Stating the impact of the upcoming monsoon season, he added, “I also informed the Mayor about the problems the public will face during the rainy season. The situation will worsen during monsoons — garbage will spread more on the roads, the stench will intensify, and the public will suffer even more. The chances of disease outbreaks will also increase. If any accident occurs due to this, the BJP alone will be responsible.”
The MCD House LoP emphasised the absence of essential vehicles and poor drainage maintenance. He said, “Earlier, every ward in the Central Zone had Tata 407 vehicles for lifting silt. But ever since BJP came to power, even these are unavailable. Although staff have cleaned drains and removed sludge, it hasn’t been collected — so the sludge flows back into the drains. I urge the Mayor to issue strict instructions to officials to resolve the issues raised in the complaints of the councillors from Ward 142 and Ward 168.”
Ankush Narang concluded by stating, “Present during the submission were Sarika Chaudhary from Ward 142, Hema Shrichand Vohra from Ward 184, Pankaj Gupta from Ward 168, Rakesh Lohia from Ward 179, Bhagveer Chaudhary from Ward 170, Kajal Singh from Ward 169, and Kusum from Ward 147.”
