The Parliamentary Committee on Urban Development took stock of the recent incidents of waterlogging after a spell of heavy rain earlier this week. A 56-year-old man drowned after his mini-truck got stuck in the flooded road under the Minto Road Bridge.
The meeting was attended by 11 MPs, including BJP’s Gautam Gambhir and AAP’s Sanjay Singh. Sources said that the meeting saw a sharp exchange of words between Mr. Gambhir and Mr. Singh on the jurisdiction of BJP-run Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi government-run Public Works Department (PWD).
MCD officials informed the committee that Minto Bridge area falls under the purview of PWD. However, the PWD officials were absent at the meeting.
Grave concern
The members expressed grave concern that one spell of rain is enough to bring the Capital to a grinding halt. According to the sources, Mr. Singh pointed out that the MCD has been tardy in cleaning the drains which leads to waterlogging in many areas. But Mr. Gambhir blamed the PWD for not preparing for the monsoon months in advance.
In a tweet, Mr. Gambhir said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s lack of seriousness is evident, when PWD which reports to him does not turn up for a meeting where accountability was to be fixed. “Now will anyone question the advertiser-in-chief who runs away from actual debate? Pathetic,” he tweeted.
Mr. Singh refused to comment on the proceedings of the committee meeting quoting the confidentiality rules.
Committee chairperson Jagdambika Pal said the panel will continue to deliberate the issue in more detail. “In the next meeting, we will be calling Delhi Chief Secretary and officials from PWD, MCD, NDMC, Jal Board, Union Urban Development Ministry and Home Ministry, because we feel it is essential to fix accountability in such cases,” Ms. Pal said.
