Delhi CM making misleading promises as polls near: BJP

New Delhi, Jan 30 (UNI) The BJP today accused Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit of making ''false and misleading'' announcements in view of the forthcoming elections, and asked her to shoulder the responsibility for wasting Rs 1800 crore ''hard earned'' public money on two previous ''failed'' Clean Yamuna schemes.

In a statement here, Delhi Pradesh BJP President Dr Harsh Vardhan asked Ms Dikshit whether she would take the responsibility for ''wasting'' another Rs 1500 crore being spent in the third phase if Yamuna was not cleaned by 2010.

He said Rs 1800 crore have already been spent on previous two phases in the name of cleaning Yamuna. ''The hard earned money of the people had been wasted, but not even an inch of Yamuna could be cleaned.'' Dr Vardhan said the government had neither punished nor held anybody responsible for ''wasting'' Rs 1800 crore on the two schemes till date. ''In view of the forthcoming elections. the Chief Minister is making false and misleading announcements everyday.'' In the recently concluded agreement between the Delhi government and the Engineers India Limited, the BJP leader said nobody had been made accountable for explaining the cause of ''wasting'' public money and also the ''failure'' of the interceptor and diversion schemes.

He said the scheme was not in accordance with the Master Plan 2021. ''Until all the 1600 unauthorised colonies of Delhi are regularised and provided with the sewerage system, no government scheme for cleaning Yamuna will succeed. This fact has also been admitted by the Union Urban Development Ministry and the Delhi government in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court.'' He said the Chief Minister was now taking a different path. ''She will not be able to befool the people of Delhi by doing so. Delhi cannot become a developed city unless all the unauthorised colonies and villages are provided with basic amenities.'' The BJP leader said the total length of Yamuna passing through Delhi was 22 km. ''The area is worse than a dirty drain. About 18 big drains of Delhi go into it. The Congress governments framed many schemes for the treatment of water going to Yamuna through these drains.'' He alleged that the political leaders and officials have benefited from the Clean Yamuna schemes. ''But the Yamuna has become even more dirtier over the period of time,'' the BJP leader said.

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