Delhi: PG collapse puts civic graft in focus

Concerns regarding Delhi civic bodies and purported corruption have assumed significance in the wake of the collapse of a paying guest (PG) accommodation at Satya Niketan near Delhi University’s South Campus.

According to the Central Vigilance Commission’s (CVC) 2025 report, Central Vigilance Officers (CVOs) had recorded 4,834 complaints against local bodies in Delhi. Out of the total number of complaints, 4,405 had been disposed of while 429 were pending, according to the report. Accordingly, of the total pending, 372 were pending for over three months.

According to the report, these local bodies include Delhi Jal Board, Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Delhi Transco Limited, Delhi Transport Corporation, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

CVC data

The CVC had initiated departmental inquiries against 38 officers, of which 19 were disposed of while 19 remained, of which 17 had been pending for over three months. Similarly, the CVC took cognisance of 246 other grievances against other personnel for departmental inquiry, of which 85 were disposed of while 161 remained pending. Out of the total, 83 complaints had been pending for over three months.

Local bodies recorded 298 total disciplinary outcomes. The most frequent disciplinary disposition was the imposition of severe penalties — comprising removal, dismissal, and compulsory retirement — which accounted for 115 cases. This was supplemented by 50 additional cases resulting in other major penalties, 35 instances involving cuts in pensions for retired personnel, and 14 cases where staff were reduced to a lower time scale.

Minor administrative interventions made up a smaller portion of the overall dispositions. Censure and formal warnings were issued in 44 instances, while other minor penalties were applied in 26 cases. Fourteen cases concluded with no action.

Data for local bodies also recorded 1,176 minor penalty outcomes and dispositions across civic entities. The distribution of these actions demonstrates a heavy reliance on administrative reprimands and financial recoveries to resolve official misconduct and procedural lapses.

The vast majority of the cases resulted in formal censure or warnings, accounting for 809 instances. This represents the primary mechanism utilised by vigilance authorities to address minor operational infractions and administrative oversights within municipal bodies.

Financial recovery from pay formed the second-largest category, with 352 cases resulting in monetary recoupment for financial irregularities or losses caused to the local bodies.

Postponement or withholding of increments was ordered in seven instances, while reduction to a lower stage was applied in two cases. Zero instances of withholding of promotion were recorded, and six cases concluded with no action.

CBI cases

Accordingly, the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Anti Corruption Branch has recorded over 50 incidents of alleged corruption by the MCD and other such civic bodies till September 11, 2026.

These reveal recurring instances where civic officials allegedly demanded illegal financial gratification from business owners, contractors, and public servants, threatening administrative action such as property sealing, demolition or adverse disciplinary outcomes if demands were not met.

In one prominent case investigated by the CBI, an officer attached to the MCD was accused of demanding illicit payments from a commercial establishment owner in West Delhi. According to the recorded complaint filed on January 2, 2026 by Mohammad Nasim, an inspector demanded money under the threat of administrative enforcement, with the complaint noting that “Sh. Pankaj Sharma came to my shop and told me that the certificate is valid only for saloon, not for spa, and saying this he issued a challan for illegal spa” before later demanding “a bribe of Rs. 50,000” and threatening that “if you do not pay the bribe amount of Rs. 50,000, your shop will be sealed”.

Contractor in crosshairs

Similar allegations of extortion tied to property construction enforcement emerged from the City SP Zone, Kashmere Gate, following a complaint filed on April 30, 2026. A building contractor, Aziz Ahmed Ansari, reported that municipal staff demanded money to allow ongoing construction work to proceed without interference. The formal complaint detailed how a staff member “demanded a bribe of Rs. 2 Lakh” and warned that “if Rs. 2 Lakh is not paid, he will bring JE Navdeep Khatri and demolish the under-construction building”.

The scope of alleged corruption within the MCD extends beyond field enforcement to internal administrative functions and departmental proceedings, as highlighted in an FIR registered on March 30, 2026. In a complaint submitted on March 27, 2026 by municipal staff members Mukesh Kumar Sharma and Gajender Kumar regarding their pending inquiry, an administrative officer allegedly sought funds on behalf of a higher authority. The complainants stated that “Shri Devanshu Gautam, Administrative Officer, Shahdara North, is demanding a bribe of four lakh rupees (two lakh each) on behalf of Colonel Shri Abhishek Mishra, Deputy Commissioner / Inquiry Officer, to issue the inquiry report in our favor”.

Financial improprieties

Beyond localised bribery complaints, financial improprieties within the MCD have also led to full-scale disproportionate assets investigations against senior technical staff, as reflected in an FIR registered on February 20, 2026. A comprehensive CBI investigation into Executive Engineer RC Sharma revealed accumulated assets valued at Rs 1,147.48 lakh, which were determined to be 848% disproportionate to his known legal sources of income during his service period. The investigation noted that the officer acquired numerous commercial properties, residential flats, and land plots in posh areas under his wife’s and family’s names, using private corporate entities to conceal ill-gotten wealth.

Administrative integrity concerns are not isolated to the MCD, as similar enforcement-related bribery allegations have been documented within the NDMC in an FIR registered on September 7, 2026. In a case registered by the CBI following a complaint filed on September 5, 2026, a street vendor reported that municipal inspectors confiscated his cart on August 26, 2026, and subsequently demanded payment to return the seized property. In his written complaint, Gaurav Manak stated that after his street cart was seized in Naoroji Nagar, he met an NDMC inspector who “told me that if you want to get your cart released, then meet Ajit and give him Rs. 50,000”.

Earlier in 2024, the CVC  portal had received a total of 561 complaints against various Delhi government departments. The largest number of complaints were against the MCD (105), Delhi Police (71), Delhi Jal Board (44) and Delhi Transport Corporation (39), among others.