Flagship projects like mohalla clinic, food truck policy 'stalled' by bureaucrats: Delhi govt sources

However, even after five months, these tender documents havent been floated by officers of Industry department, sources claimed.Another budget initiative - Delhi Electronic City - is also waiting in the wings due to obstructions, they claimed.

Amid the ongoing tussle between the AAP dispensation and Lt Governor over governance issues, Delhi government sources on Thursday claimed that important projects like mohalla clinics and food truck policy have been ''stalled'' by the bureaucrats.

Payment for electricity, rent, lab tests and doctors' salaries for all mohalla clinics in Delhi were not made for three months as the Finance and Health departments started raising ''frivolous objections'' to delay payments, sources claimed.

''When the Finance minister summoned the Finance secretary to resolve the issue, the officer neither attended any of the meetings nor responded to the minister's telephone calls and messages,'' they charged.

An immediate reaction was not available from the finance secretary of the government over the allegations.

In the past six months, the finance secretary has ''delayed'' the release of payments to various departments, adversely affecting payment of power subsidies, salaries and pensions to DTC employees, wages to bus marshals, salaries of mohalla clinic doctors and staff, among others, sources charged.

They also alleged that the head of the Environment and Forest department attended just one of the 20 meetings, related to the winter action plan to tackle pollution, called by the minister concerned in May-October last year, and skipped the rest.

Many flagship programmes of the AAP government were also ''stopped'' by the top bureaucrats, they charged, citing setting up of a research centre at GTB hospital, free Yoga classes, and financial assistant to SC students preparing for competitive exams.

''Payments have also been stopped to contractors of water and sewer department resulting in many critical projects coming to a standstill,'' they claimed.

The formation of Haj Committee was done in the past by the LG on the aid and advice of the Council of ministers, but the current committee was formed bypassing the elected government with officers issuing notification for it on LG's instructions, they charged.

An immediate reaction was not available from the LG office over the issue. In the past, the LG office had rebutted charges of AAP over Lt Governor's decisions, saying he was following the Constitution and the rule books.

The ambitious virtual marketplace project of the Kejriwal government - Dilli Bazaar -- announced in the budget, was also unable to take shape because of the ''bureaucratic hurdles'', sources charged.

The initiative was announced in Delhi government's Rozgar Budget in March 2022. The detailed tender and other documents for the project was also prepared and submitted to the Industries department in July 2022. However, even after five months, these tender documents haven't been floated by officers of Industry department, sources claimed.

Another budget initiative - Delhi Electronic City - is also waiting in the wings due to ''obstructions'', they claimed. A detailed blueprint drafted by the Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), the think tank of the government, was submitted to the Industries department through Deputy CM Manish Sisodia on October 12, 2022, sources said.

''However, even after three months, officers of the industry department are yet to even review the detailed policy prepared by DDC or submit the final policy for the approval of the concerned minister and the cabinet,'' they said.

The Delhi Food Truck policy, also part of the Rozgar Budget bouquet, faced the same fate, they claimed.

The Tourism department has yet to act on a proposal for this even as a draft policy was to be submitted for approval of the minister concerned and Cabinet in July 2022, the said.

Several land owning agencies had offered 30-40 vacant sites to set up food trucks, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)