Surprise checks by MLAs soon

A Delhi Assembly committee has decided that its members will conduct surprise inspection across the city to ascertain if the public works department (PWD) is doing enough to fix spots vulnerable to water-logging.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier asked the department to fix all such spots ahead of the monsoon so that people won’t have to face waterlogging issues.

PWD secretary Ashwani Kumar, who appeared

before the petition committee on Monday, informed the House panel about the department’s preparedness. The PWD will soon issue a WhatsApp number for the common public to file complaints about waterlogging prone spots in the city, a committee member said. The petition committee is being headed by AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj.

“The committee members will make surprise inspection every day at 6 am along with the PWD secretary to check things on the ground,” the member said. The PWD secretary was summoned by the panel last week to take stock of the monsoon preparations.

The panel had also summoned chief secretary M.M. Kutty and health secretary Madhup Vyas over alleged unavailability of medicines in government-run hospitals. The Anti-Corruption Branch has also initiated an inquiry into the matter.

“During his appearance before the committee, the health secretary presented a report of June 1, according to which there was no shortage of medicines in the city-run hospitals,” sources said.

The health department’s officials have been asked to produce file-noting in the next hearing, another committee member said. The officials reportedly denied any wrongdoing in procurement of medicines for the hospitals.