Civic body has no money for salaries, but gives land to builder for free: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday accused a BJP-led civic body of giving away 95 acre of land in north Delhi worth over Rs 15,000 crore for free to a builder even while the local body doesn't have money to pay salaries.

Showing a letter written by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) Commissioner alleging corruption in the land allocation, AAP leaders Dilip Pandey and Atishi Marlena questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on the alleged scam.

"The MCD that has no funds to pay salaries to teachers or 'safai karamcharis' allows 95 acres of its land to be transferred for the benefit of a private builder without asking any questions. Who is the beneficiary of this transfer," Marlena questioned.

In a letter dated May 18, Renu K. Jagdev, a 1989-batch Indian Revenue Service officer in the North corporation, said that the land at Khyber Pass in the Civil Lines area, which as per the Delhi government's revenue records comes under the ownership of the civic body, has been "wrongly allotted" to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by the Land and Development Office. The land is being developed by a private builder.

Jagdev said that the matter was under continuous discussion with the L&DO since 2015. "But lately, I was being pressurised by the Commissioner ... to drop the matter so that the building plan of M/s Parsvnath can be sanctioned and their project continued."

"The land in question is worth more than Rs 15,000 crore," Jagdev added.

In the letter, Jagdev also said that all of a sudden, she received her repatriation orders dated May 17, relieving her with effect from May 18.

Pandey said that "Jagdev has been shunted out of her position by the L-G, who controls transfers and postings of all bureaucrats in Delhi".

"This entire episode raises serious questions on the role of the BJP leadership, the L-G and senior bureaucrats who relinquished claim on land worth Rs 15,000 crore belonging to the MCD, leading to a windfall gain to a private builder," he said.

Pandey said: "The Mayor of NDMC has tried to intimidate us by filing defamation suits against us. But that does not deter us. We will continue to expose the BJP's corruption."

--IANS

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