Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday stated that illegal buildings in the capital are constructed with the active connivance of IAS officers under the BJP government, while accountability is routinely limited to junior officials. Citing a case from Chirag Delhi, Saurabh Bharadwaj said the South Zone Deputy Commissioner’s silence on action against a builder whose substandard, corruption-linked building had tilted in 2021 and was demolished under AAP’s pressure exposes how the system protects senior officers. He added that the same builder has begun reconstructing the very same building in 2025.
AAP Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “They have been asking the Deputy Commissioner what action was taken against the builder in the earlier case, but no response has been given. Whenever an accident occurs in Delhi, junior officials like JEs are suspended and the matter is closed, while the system protects senior IAS officers.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that despite all their complaints, no action has been taken against the builder. “Therefore, if this building collapses, action should be taken against the responsible IAS officers. If the DC does not act against the builder even after repeated complaints, it clearly means that the money is reaching the top,” he added.
While exposing the IAS system, Saurabh Bharadwaj said that it has become common in Delhi for buildings to collapse, leading to the deaths of children, elderly people, and women. “Such accidents occur every two or three months, and afterwards a junior engineer (JE) is made a scapegoat and suspended, bringing the matter to an end,” he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said that today he wants to make it clear that this issue is not limited to JEs alone. “It concerns senior IAS officers under whose supervision this corruption flourishes. When an accident happens, junior employees are suspended, but the real culprits escape accountability,” he said adding that AAP workers conducted an exercise in the MCD’s South Zone, which brought this truth to light.
Saurabh Bharadwaj explained that a building was under construction within Chirag Delhi ward. This was the same builder who had illegally constructed House No. 699 in Chirag Delhi during the COVID lockdown in 2021, secretly and without permission. “Such poor-quality construction material was used at the time that the building tilted,” he said.
“After it tilted, the MCD councillor complained several times, but the MCD did not take any action. Eventually, when the building was on the verge of collapse and a major accident could have occurred, he personally put pressure on the MCD Commissioner, following which the building was demolished,” he highlighted.
The AAP Delhi Unit Chief said that after this, several written queries were made asking what action was taken against the builders from Greater Kailash who had constructed such a substandard building in Chirag Delhi. “Even when the councillor raised the issue, the MCD gave no response,” he said.
“Then, in 2025, the same builder once again started reconstructing the same building. When the MCD was asked what action had been taken against them the last time the building collapsed, the MCD maintained complete silence,” he added.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said that this time it was decided not to engage at the JE or Executive Engineer (XEN) level, but to expose those senior IAS officers who escape accountability every time. “Therefore, this time the complaint was directly submitted to the South Zone DC, IAS officer Dilkhush Meena,” he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj further stated, “When the councillor lodged a complaint in July 2025, there was no response. In his complaint, it was clearly stated that these were the same people whose building had earlier tilted and was later demolished. It was asked whether any action had been taken against them, but no answer was received.”
He further said that in August 2025, an RTI was filed asking whether any action had been taken against those builders, but even the RTI received no response. “After this, in September, the councillor met the DC and informed him that the building was again being constructed by the same builder and posed a renewed danger,” he stated.
The senior AAP leader continued, “The councillor requested the DC to ensure that the RTI was answered, since the department was not responding. The DC gave assurances, but no action was taken, nor was the RTI answered.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj said that thereafter, photographs were continuously sent to the DC on WhatsApp so that he would be aware that the building was once again in a condition that could lead to collapse. “Photos were sent to the DC every month,” he said.
He continued, “The DC kept viewing the WhatsApp messages and attempted to enable the ‘disappearing messages’ setting so that the sent messages would get deleted. However, he changed the settings again so that the messages would not disappear. After this, the DC stopped responding altogether.”
Saurabh Bharadwaj said that every month the DC was informed through photographs that construction was ongoing and that the building could collapse, yet the South Zone DC took no action. He said that he does not want any JE or XEN to be suspended in this matter.
“Action should be taken directly against the DC, that is, the IAS officer who has remained silent on complaints for the past eight months and has not responded to RTIs,” he continued.
He further said that officers are not taking action because the corruption money collected at the JE and mate level reaches senior officials such as the DC and Commissioner.
Saurabh Bharadwaj concluded by stating, “If the DC does not act even after repeated complaints and RTIs and continues to suppress the matter, it directly means that the money is reaching the DC. And if the government is not taking action against the DC, it means the money is reaching the government as well.
