Kejriwal proposes SPV to address sanitation issues in Delhi

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that cleaning a city like Delhi is not rocket science, but issues occur when jurisdictions overlap.

New Delhi: Claiming that multiplicity of agencies in the national capital was hindering execution of sanitation-related works, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday proposed having a 'special purpose vehicle' (SPV) framework, on the lines of Delhi Metro, to address the pressing issue.

"Cleaning a city like Delhi is not rocket science, but issues occur when jurisdictions overlap and due to multiplicity of agencies. So, a municipal area may overlap with the one administered by the PWD and vice versa, and that stalls the actual work," Kejriwal said.

He was speaking at the launch of 'Swachch Delhi Abhiyan' here in the presence of Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu. The drive would be held from November 22-30.

"Our priority is cleaning our city and cleaning Yamuna also, but problem is some parts of it belong to MCD, some to PWD and some to floods department, and that is where the work gets retarded.

"And, therefore, if on the lines of DMRC (Delhi Metro Rail Corporation), we could have a 'special purpose vehicle' to bring all agencies in harmony, the work will pick up pace," he added.

DMRC, a state-owned company with equal equity participation from the Centre and the government of Delhi, built and operates the Delhi Metro. It is now ranked as one of the most-efficient and clean mode of transportation, not just in India, but world over.

"But, as long as we don't coordinate and execute our work, Yamuna cannot be cleaned in even 100 years," Kejriwal claimed.

The Delhi Chief Minister said, "We may squabble over jurisdiction, but people see a lying garbage as failure of entire administration. And, therefore we should forget our political divisions and work for a better and cleaner Delhi together. We should not criticise but cooperate with each other."

"I can assure you during this drive if there is any dispute over jurisdiction for picking up waste, we will take care of that," he added.

The AAP government had on November 16 also launched a 'Swachch Delhi' app that allows people to upload pictures of garbage and debris dumps through it and send them to a central control room, which is then forwarded to agencies concerned.

The app has received over 13,000 sanitation-related grievances since its launch last week, with maximum complaints being received from areas falling under the jurisdiction of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (4,400).