Senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has revealed that Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Vinai Saxena is turning a blind eye towards the rampant corruption in DDA flat allocations which were meant for poor slum dwellers being sold illegally.
The Delhi Cabinet Minister questioned whether the LG is truly unaware of this corruption, suggesting it is happening with the involvement of top officials from the DDA, which falls under the LG’s authority. He took potshots at the BJP for consistently opposing the welfare of slum residents, pointing to the demolition of thousands of slums in the last two years and accusing the party of neglecting the poor.
In a press conference, senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that flats constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Delhi are meant to provide ‘jhuggi’ dwellers with dignified housing, aiming to reduce the number of jhuggis in the national capital. It aims to provide the ‘jhuggi’ dwellers with a place to live so they can improve their lives and the lives of their children and families, allowing them to lead a dignified life.
Expressing his shock, Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that, “A few years ago, the Prime Minister inaugurated such flats in Kalkaji. However, a recent sting operation revealed that these flats are being sold on the black market to ineligible buyers, bypassing the intended beneficiaries from JJ clusters.”
Taking potshots at the BJP for consistently opposing initiatives for the poor, the Delhi Minister asked, “The AAP gave free electricity to the poor, and the BJP opposed it. We provided 20,000 litres of water, and the BJP opposed it. We made bus travel free for women, and the BJP opposed that too. And now, these flats, which were built for the poor, are being sold to others in black.”
The senior AAP leader said that transferring these flats is not simple. Over the past two years, central government agencies like Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), DDA, and Land and Development Office (L&DO) have demolished Delhi’s ‘jhuggis’, rendering lakhs of residents homeless. Those eligible for flats have been evicted, as seen behind DPS Mathura Road, where thousands were displaced by L&DO. In Tughlakabad, the central government’s ASI rendered lakhs of people shelterless, and in Mehrauli, thousands more were forced out.
“The railways evicted thousands of people from areas like Sarojini Nagar and the area around Safdarjung Airport. These displaced people were supposed to receive these flats. Now, where are they going after being displaced? This is the question that Delhiites must ask. They are building shelters elsewhere, under flyovers, beneath foot overbridges, and along the banks of drains. Delhi is being worsened because of this,” he added.
The Minister further added that while the poor are being evicted, corruption surrounds the flats meant for them. There’s a lengthy process to allot a flat to a ‘jhuggi’ dweller, surveys of the ‘jhuggi’, documents of their time at the ‘jhuggi’ are checked, and verification of their eligibility. Yet, those without names in the surveys or any documents proving them a resident of the ‘jhuggis’ are still receiving flats, raising serious concerns.
Saurabh Bharadwaj reasoned that this large-scale corruption couldn’t have occurred without the collusion of high-ranking DDA officials, and it’s unlikely to have happened without the LG’s knowledge. He said, “With the ACB, Vigilance Department, and CBI under his control, it’s hard to believe the LG was unaware that flats meant for ‘jhuggi’ dwellers were being stolen through corruption, harming both the poor and the city of Delhi.”
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