Delhi govt provided Rs 175 crore to MCD for garbage disposal: Sood

Delhi: The Delhi government is making every effort to strengthen sanitation in the city, and has provided a special assistance of Rs 175 crore to the MCD for garbage disposal, Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood said on Saturday.

During an inspection of sanitation work in West Delhi’s Vishnu Garden, Sood said the government is considering allocation of additional funds to the civic body to ensure cleanliness.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, a special financial assistance of Rs 175 crore has been provided to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to clear pending payments of contractors engaged in garbage collection, the minister said.

“We will move a Cabinet note for additional funds to the MCD. Every possible help will be extended to the civic body for a neat and clean Delhi,” he told PTI.

The minister claimed that during the last two-and-a-half years of the AAP’s tenure in the MCD, Delhi’s sanitation system was derailed due to “improper contracts and mismanagement”.

He said the Delhi government is working to fix the issues, and on the chief minister’s direction, all the ministers are personally monitoring cleanliness and sanitation works across Delhi.

During the inspection drive, Sood visited several residential and commercial areas in Ward 95 and took note of the issues faced by the local residents.

The government is working at multiple levels to strengthen the sanitation system and improve waste management in the city, the minister said, asserting that residents will have a clean city in the coming days.

Read more

Shanti Van: Delhi’s quiet refuge that still echoes Nehru’s ideals

As you walk into Shanti Van, the fragrance of flowers fills the air, lifting your mood almost instantly. The gardeners are nowhere to be seen; even the peacocks, usually visible across the lawns, have taken shelter from the thin November chill. Only the sound of your footsteps breaks the silence — along with the faint hum of Ring Road traffic beyond a low stone wall that separates two worlds, divided by time and sixty years of history.

The marble feels cold as winter settles over the Capital. Someone has left a small string of marigolds along the edge, already browning at the tips. Another visitor has placed a single rose, its petals the colour of old blood. There is no nameplate, no grand inscription — only the words: Jawaharlal Nehru, 1889–1964.