Delhi LG Saxena asks officials to start dust-free drive in Delhi

New Delhi [India], September 23 (ANI): Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Monday asked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Public Work Department (PWD), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), Irrigation and Command Area Development (ICAD) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to take up a dust-free Delhi drive over the next one week or ten days and asked the same drive to be converted into a year-long campaign.

LG has advised MCD and PWD to clean the roads, and not leave dust accumulated on the road, transport it to designated dumping sites.

Similarly, agencies responsible for cleaning drains and sewer lines, viz., MCD, IFCD, and DJB, have been asked to coordinate and get the silt or mud picked up and disposed of.

Saxena emphasised that even if it rains, the exercise of removing the wet mud or silt from the roads should be continued so as to ensure that they do not flow into drains and sewer lines, in the process choking them.

The departments have been asked to immediately deploy teams and record the work undertaken through "before and after" pictures and videos. The status of ongoing works will be regularly provided to the LG Secretariat and Saxena will review the status after completion of the first phase of the Dust-free Delhi exercise.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party responded to LG advisory, claiming that Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had called all departments to a meeting earlier on this matter.

AAP said that the meeting could not be held due to unavailability of officials.

"Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj had sent a meeting note in which he had attached dozens of photographs along with GPS locations showing silt deposits on the sides of the roads belonging to MCD, PWD etc. In the same meeting note, the Minister had told the HODs that right now the silt of wet due to rains, but as soon as the rains stop, this silt will dry up and start adding to the dust pollution.Therefore Department HODs were asked to prepare a plan to remove this silt in next two weeks. It is unfortunate that LG saab is trying to using such tactics to claim credit." AAP said in a press statement. (ANI)