Delhi Minister Calls for Transparency in Desilting Corruption Case

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has urged Lt Governor VK Saxena to reveal the names of officials who neglected desilting work, leading to allegations of large-scale corruption. Despite repeated requests for a third-party audit, the desilting work remained unchecked. The lieutenant governor has ordered a probe into the misuse of funds.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday challenged Lt Governor VK Saxena to disclose the names of the officials who failed to carry out desilting work in the national capital.

There was no immediate response from Raj Niwas.

A day after the lieutenant governor initiated an investigation into allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds related to desilting, Bharadwaj, the urban development minister, emphasized at a press conference that significant corruption had occurred under the guise of desilting initiatives.

'Desilting claims worth crores were mere paperwork; I've stated this repeatedly,' Bharadwaj asserted. 'I informed the chief secretary that a third-party audit was essential,' he added, noting the audit was never conducted despite multiple orders.

Bharadwaj mentioned that he wrote to the chief secretary on May 20 to request the status of desilting work by various agencies and a target completion date. The chief secretary failed to submit a report even after multiple reminders, the minister alleged.

On June 13, Bharadwaj reiterated his request, seeking details of completed desilting projects for verification. However, work continued to be unfulfilled, according to the minister.

On June 28, instructions were again issued for a third-party audit. Bharadwaj claimed that desilting assertions were fraudulent, involving significant corruption. He noted the lieutenant governor ordered an investigation into specific divisions on Monday.

'An investigation should be completed within 48 hours,' Bharadwaj demanded. 'The Delhi government is giving the lieutenant governor a tight deadline to disclose names of corrupt officials,' he said.

On Monday, Saxena instructed the Anti-Corruption Branch to investigate the alleged misuse of nearly Rs 80 crore by the Public Works Department for desilting work in the Palam area.

(With inputs from agencies.)