Audit report exposes multi-thousand crore scam in BJP-ruled SDMC: AAP

The AAP on Saturday claimed that the audit report of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation placed before the Standing Committee has exposed scams worth thousands of crores in the BJP-run municipal corporation.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on the audit report, the chief spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Saurabh Bhardwaj said: "AAP will be filing a complaint with the anti-corruption branch against the scam in the BJP-run MCDs as exposed in the audit report."

"The audit report of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) was placed before the Standing Committee. According to the report, there is not a single department in the corporation in which corruption of crores of rupees was not found," he said.

On the specific cases of corruption, he said: "MCD has an outstanding balance of Rs 1,177 crore in the collection of property tax, but the MCD leadership has filled its own private pockets instead of recovering this money, especially on commercial properties."

The report mentions that farmhouses where the rich and powerful host weddings, were shown as agricultural land and low taxes were collected, resulting in a huge loss to the SDMC.

According to the audit report, four well-known properties, including Umrao, Four Points and Mapple Emerald account for "non-collection of taxes worth Rs 4,49,99,422. There are a lot of such properties in South Delhi, whose taxes are being manipulated by BJP leaders and MCD officials."

Bhardwaj said: "It was revealed that in the internal audit department of the MCD around 147 units have been audited by internal audit, which constitutes only 4 per cent of the total units of SDMC whereas the rule states that 100 per cent audit is necessary."

Speaking about the Vigilance Department, he said, "Around 313 regular departmental actions were referred to the Vigilance Department. The charge sheet was given by the Vigilance Department only in 165 cases. For the remaining 148 cases, the charge sheet has not been issued for many years against those involved in corruption."

He further alleged that most of cell phone towers in Delhi are illegal. The fixed fees of the MCD for setting up the tower is Rs one lakh. The MCD has not taken that fee even from the towers which are under legal purview and revenue worth crores of rupees is being lost to SDMC, to satisfy private interests of BJP leaders."

He said the MCD should investigate this and take action against the officials concerned. It is very shocking that the MCD has not acted on its internal audit report either. "AAP will file a complaint in the ACB against the multi-crore scam found in the SDMC," he said.

"MCDs withhold the salaries of its sanitation workers, the doctors working in the municipal hospitals every two to four months, saying that they have no money to pay the employees. Instead of collecting crores of rupees that could have come to the MCD's coffer, BJP leaders have bankrupted the municipal corporation," alleged Bharadwaj.