NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday blamed Municipal Corporation of Delhi for the incident of wall collapse in north Delhi’s Alipur area and alleged that no action was taken against the illegal construction despite the area MLA and local SDM alerting the corporation.
BJP, however, said that the responsibility of taking action against illegal constructions on agricultural land lies with the district authorities and alleged that one of the accused in the case was an AAP leader and the Delhi police was looking for him.
At least five people died and eight injured when the wall of an illegally constructed godown collapsed in Alipur on Friday.
Addressing a press conference, AAP MLA and party’s MCD incharge Durgesh Pathak alleged that BJP took money to allow the illegal construction. “The area SDM had informed MCD about the illegal construction but no action was taken,” Pathak said, adding that a proper investigation should be conducted and the culprits should be punished under sections 302 and 307 of the IPC.
Narela MLA Sharad Chauhan claimed that he had informed the lieutenant governor, both verbally and through a letter, about the illegal construction in a meeting last month. “I also informed the Narela Zone DC through a phone call but instead of taking action, she blocked my number,” the MLA added.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor Pathak claimed that the police was on a look out for a person called Shakti Singh, who is an AAP leader. “As per the locals of Bhaktawarpur village, the said Shakti Singh is an Aam Aadmi Party leader and the entire area is full of his posters and hoardings in support of the ruling party. Pathak needs to actually clarify the connection between Shakti Singh and AAP,” Kapoor said.
He also condemned the AAP MLA for giving a “false and misleading” statement on the mishap. “Pathak is now an MLA and should know that it is the responsibility of the district magistrate, additional district magistrate and sub-divisional magistrate to stop unauthorised construction on agricultural land in Alipur and nearby villages. It is really unfortunate that Pathak has wrongly tried to put the blame on MCD,” Kapoor said.
He added that the SDM Alipur office carried out a demolition exercise near the accident site, thus exposing that it was his responsibility to stop the unauthorised construction.
Demanding action against the DM and SDM, Kapoor urged that the families of the five victims should be given a compensation of Rs 20 lakh each by the Delhi government.
