Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Friday launched a month-long cleanliness campaign titled ‘Dilli Ko Kude Se Azaadi’ (Freedom from Garbage), targeting the condition of government offices and accusing the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) administration of neglect.
Wielding a broom during a visit to the Women and Child Development Department office at Kashmiri Gate, Gupta expressed dismay at the state of disrepair. “I am coming to this office for the first time. It is saddening to see that our officers work in this kind of building. The fans can fall off any moment and the roof is leaking,” she said, according to PTI.
The building, which suffered a fire in 2021, has reportedly not undergone any repairs since. During her inspection, the Chief Minister cleared e-waste, removed old files and posters, and swept the premises herself.
She criticised the former AAP government, saying it prioritised vanity projects over essential maintenance. “They spent crores of rupees on building Sheesh Mahal but did not do anything to improve the condition of government offices,” Gupta said.
According to PTI, the Chief Minister announced plans to begin the process of identifying a site for constructing a new Secretariat building that would bring all government departments under one roof.
The campaign, she said, has started with departments cleaning their own premises. “We removed e-waste, old files and junk that was lying here. We also need to relook at rules governing tenders for waste removal,” Gupta said.
The initiative is expected to continue throughout August, with departments instructed to carry out similar clean-up efforts across the Capital.
(With inputs from PTI)
