Delhi Revenue Minister Atishi on 29 July wrote a letter to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar over 'laxity' in processing flood relief aid, and asking him to submit a status report by Monday, 31 July to her and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The letter dated Friday, 28 July, mentions that Atishi, Principal Secretary Revenue Ashwini Kumar, and other officers of revenue department, reviewed the financial aid of Rs 10,000 for flood-affected citizens in Delhi. They discovered that out of 4,716 families in relief camps, only 197 received the Rs 10,000 aid. The letter highlights the need for more transparency and accountability in the flood relief process.
The Quint reached out the Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar over the allegations. The article will be updated as and when he responds.
Atishi criticised the laxity of officers processing relief for 70 families.
"All the officers deployed by you are holding crucial positions in important departments like Health, Education, Finance, PWD, Tourism, etc. If they are showing such laxity in times of emergency and disaster, I am deeply concerned about what they would be doing in the day-to-day tasks of their departments."Letter
Atishi mentioned in the letter that the Chief Secretary should deploy officers to process relief for flood-affected individuals, allowing funds to be transferred to bank accounts on Monday.
Responding to the letter by Atishi, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva told The Hindu, “It is shameful that Atishi has tried to put blame of delay in compensation of distribution to flood victims on officials even as it is CM Arvind Kejriwal whose callousness is responsible for delay in flood relief distribution.”
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)