Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood has accused the former government of rigging the maintenance of night shelters. He said that this irregularity took place during the previous administration and now it will be investigated by the CBI. Sood has instructed the DM of all the districts to examine the night shelters in the first phase. Along with this, the Vigilance Department has also been asked to conduct an inquiry.
On Friday, a meeting was held to discuss the arrangement of night shelters at the Secretariat, in which senior officials of the Delhi Urban Shelter Reform Board (DUSIB) and all the District Magistrates attended through video conferencing. Sood said that on Thursday, he conducted a surprise inspection of five night shelters at Sarai Kale Khan, where the dirt situation was very bad.
In the meeting, Sood instructed all the officers to ensure daily cleaning of night shelters and the surrounding area should also be kept clean. He said that if negligence is found, strict action will be taken.
The minister directed the officials to take special care of cleaning, water system, electricity, drinking water and attendance register in all night shelters. In addition, the entry of unauthorized persons should be banned. Rain shelters should be kept under government control.
He also said that no private institution will be entrusted with the management of night shelters. The security system in women’s night shelters will be tightened and any emergency will be resolved immediately. Dusib reported that an app-based system is being developed for the presence of employees working in night shelters.
