Minister accuses Lieutenant-Governor of ignoring corruption in flat allocation to poor

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday accused Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena of overlooking corruption in the allocation of flats intended for poor slum dwellers.

Bharadwaj raised concerns that these flats were being sold illegally, questioning whether the L-G was truly unaware of the involvement of senior officials from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which operates under his jurisdiction.

At a press conference on Saturday, Bharadwaj stated,

“The flats constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are meant to provide dignity and housing for ‘jhuggi’ dwellers. However, a recent sting operation revealed that these flats are being sold on the black market to ineligible buyers.” Bharadwaj criticised the BJP for consistently opposing welfare initiatives for the poor. “The AAP government has provided free electricity, 20,000 litres of water and free bus travel for women, all of which the BJP opposed. Now, the flats meant for the poor are being sold off illegally,” he said.

He also highlighted the issue of displacement, noting that Central agencies demolished thousands of slums, leaving many homeless. “Over the past two years, the Archaeological Survey of India and DDA have rendered lakhs of residents shelterless. Those eligible for flats have been evicted,” he explained.

Bharadwaj expressed concern over the process of allocating these flats, emphasising the rigorous eligibility checks that were being bypassed. “While there is a lengthy verification process for ‘jhuggi’ dwellers, those without proper documentation are still receiving flats. This large-scale corruption cannot occur without the collusion of high-ranking DDA officials,” he asserted.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva criticised Bharadwaj’s claims, accusing him of spreading misinformation about Central agencies. “Bharadwaj has once again attempted to place baseless allegations against the DDA,” he said.

Sachdeva questioned why the Kejriwal government has allowed 40,000 flats built under the Rajiv Awas Yojana during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure to deteriorate without allocating them to beneficiaries. “How many houses has the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) allocated over the past 10 years?” he asked. He also demanded clarity on why AAP govt failed to implement the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Delhi.