MCD trying to shift responsibility: DDA on Ghazipur drain deaths

The 'open drain' where the accident occurred was transferred to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on April 13 this year and falls entirely under its jurisdiction, said the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is headed by the L-G.

New Delhi: The DDA on Sunday denied the AAP-led Municipal Corporation of Delhi's allegation that a woman and her child drowned in a drain falling under its jurisdiction in Ghazipur and said the civic body was trying to "shift responsibility".

The "open drain" where the accident occurred was transferred to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on April 13 this year and falls entirely under its jurisdiction, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which is headed by the Lieutenant Governor (L-G), said in a statement.

The July 31 evening incident has led to a war of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Raj Niwas -- the L-G's office-cum-residence.

While the party has claimed that the drain comes under the jurisdiction of the DDA, the Raj Niwas has said the portion of the drain the woman and her three-year-old child slipped into amid heavy rain was under the MCD.

Referring to a document that has been put on public domain, the development authority said that "at no point did DDA officials, either in writing or verbally, acknowledge/accept that the claimed accident spot pertains to the DDA".

"Therefore, the facts presented in the report of the executive engineer, MCD, on August 1, claiming that the DDA accepted that the site of the incident pertains to it, are entirely incorrect and a blatant attempt to shift responsibility," it said.

The document being "circulated after a press conference", is "an internal MCD paper which has neither been seen nor signed by any DDA official", the statement said.

The DDA said during a meeting, chaired by the Mayur Vihar sub-divisional magistrate, on August 1, various waterlogging sites were inspected, including the claimed accident spot.

It said an independent Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) survey has confirmed the jurisdictional boundaries, reinforcing that the accident site is within the MCD's domain.

The DDA also accused the MCD of circulating misleading photographs to tarnish the authority's reputation. These images were taken after "search operations had disturbed the drain covers", it said.

Instead of engaging in blame game, all civic bodies are urged to collaborate and work for people's welfare, the DDA said in its statement. It also highlighted the "dire" need to improve Delhi's "deteriorating" civic amenities.