Little progress as June 15 deadline for cleaning drains nears

The East Delhi Municipal Corporation appears to be struggling to meet the June 15 deadline set for cleaning all drains under its jurisdiction.
The House meeting of the corporation today saw BJP and Congress trade charges with the ruling party blaming PWD for not cleaning drains under its jurisdiction and the opposition claiming that PWD was doing a good job and it was the MCD drains that were still overflowing with silt and garbage.
Deputy Mayor Mahendra Ahuja said the progress of cleaning the drains was extremely unsatisfactory. "To be frank, I have not found a single drain in the area where the water flow is effective," he said, calling on the PWD to speed-up the task of cleaning the drains under its ambit.

"The distribution of drains between the two bodies has worsened the situation," Ahuja added.
Congress leader Savita Sharma said it was impossible to meet the deadline of June 15 set by the Commissioner's office for desilting of drains.
"With just five more days to go, very few drains have been cleaned. I have repeatedly asked to be given the action plan prepared for this task but no official has provided me with it yet," she added.
Meanwhile, Mayor Ram Narain Dubey has directed officials to carry out daily inspections and take action against junior officers in whose areas desilting work has not been completed.

"If the work has not started even now, immediate action should be taken against such officials," said Dubey.