New Delhi: Government officers in Delhi have become thick-skinned over the last 10 years and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government will now make them run and burn their fat, Delhi’s Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Verma said Friday. This came a day after Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta wrote to Chief Secretary Dharmendra, complaining that the officers were not even acknowledging MLAs’ calls and letters.
On Friday, Verma directed the suspension of a PWD executive engineer over poor desilting of a drain in the Akshardham area in the national capital. The minister was inspecting the condition of roads and drains in certain parts of Delhi. “Sabko dauda rahe hain, mai bhi daud raha hun. Humko bhi paseena ayega aur unko bhi (We are making them run, I am running, too. We will sweat and so will they),” he told media persons. “The fat will immediately burn when they start sweating. They will have to work.”
The minister said that he is personally carrying out inspections across the capital, and strict action will be taken against officials if any laxity is found.
“When these officers didn’t have a job, they were running after it. Once they got a job, they didn’t want to work. You get a salary from people’s money (public fund), so you will have to do people’s work. People’s work is paramount for us. Delhi is not an ordinary state. It is India’s capital and we have to ensure it appears like one,” Verma added.
He further said that the Delhi government has resolved to leave no stone unturned and make the officers work. “Delhi’s system had been destroyed and was on the verge of collapse,” Verma remarked.
He said that Delhi’s ministers are out on the streets getting work done as soon as possible. “Officials have been given very strict instructions that there won’t be any slackness, and the system that has been formed will have to be changed.”
In a letter to the Delhi chief secretary, Speaker Gupta had written that the issue of officers ignoring calls and messages of elected MLAs was a ‘serious matter’, and had asked for a compliance report.
Reacting to Verma’s remarks, AAP leader Atishi said, “These officers have done a lot of great work despite so many obstacles. They built world class schools and hospitals. But what has happened now that the officers are not working? Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma has been using foul language since morning. He is talking rubbish about the officers.”
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)