Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena directed the Chief Secretary to inquire into the alleged ‘irregularities and discrepancies’ in the power subsidy given by the AAP government to BSES discoms. The LG has sought the report in 7 days.
Notably, earlier this year in May, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that subsidies on power tariffs will, starting from the October billing period, apply only to eligible consumers who opt for it. Last month, Kejriwal noted that consumers could opt-in for power subsidies by giving a missed call or sending a WhatsApp message to 7011311111 or submitting applications at various billing centres.
Last week, the Delhi LG wrote a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the delay in execution of several developmental projects pending due to delayed permissions for tree removal or translocation. The permissions for around 15 important infrastructure projects are pending with the Minister of Environment & Forest, GNCTD since as long as the year 2019. According to reports, land for compensatory afforestation or transplantation has already been identified or allotted in all these cases.
“Such unwarranted delays in disposal of applications regarding permission for relocation /transplantation is leading to a waste of public funds due to time and cost overruns of the projects for which accountability needs to be fixed. Further pendency in completion of the projects is also delaying the provision of much required public utilities and services to the citizens of Delhi. Project Management Agencies/ Departments are being constrained to seek relief from the Courts, resulting in overburdening the Courts besides leading to wastage of time and energy at all levels,” the LG noted in his letter.
“Considering the public importance of projects and the inconvenience being faced by several agencies, I had raised the matter regarding undue delay in disposal of applications for grant of permission for tree cutting/translocation in case of various projects of CPWD, DMRC, Indian Railways several times during my meetings with you, however, the pendency continues to persist,” he added.
