New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Hinting at a possible CBI probe, Delhi Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood on Thursday said lax officials and NGOs would be held accountable for corruption and shortcomings at government-run night shelters under the previous AAP government.

After a visit to five night shelters operating in the parking lot of Sarai Kale Khan bus terminal in southeast Delhi, Sood said he has issued directions to fix the responsibility of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) officials for mismanagement at the facilities.

He pointed to several wrongdoings found during Thursday’s inspection and said no attendance register was found anywhere.

“The poor labourers living there have been exploited and put to work by the cleaning staff or the management for five to six thousand rupees, and lakhs of rupees are being collected from the government in lieu of this. We will get this investigated by the vigilance and, if needed, we will get it investigated by the CBI as well,” he said.

The Minister reprimanded DUSIB and the NGOs running them and warned that such negligence and corruption will not be tolerated.

Sood claimed, “We received complaints that large-scale corruption was taking place in these shelter homes and night shelters. Written reports alleged that senior AAP leaders, including the former Chief Minister, had colluded with NGOs to siphon off funds meant for facilities for thousands of people.”

He said, “Today I was shocked to find a sick man being passed off as a cleaner and made to work for just Rs 5,000 a month, an outright violation of labour laws and proof of deep corruption.”

The Minister said there were complaints of posting of ‘ghost’ employees by NGOs for upkeep of these shelters.

“We had been told that the previous government had appointed hundreds of people to look after these night shelters. But we are getting complaints that neither enough people have been appointed in these night shelters nor are the people living there getting basic facilities,” he said.

Corrupt leaders of the AAP government and the NGOs and officials working at their behest are committing fraud on a large scale in the night shelters of Delhi, he said, pointing to the complaints received by the BJP government which is in power in the national Capital now.

–IANS

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