BJP’s Claims About Its MCD Performance Largely False!

| Apr 19, 2017 | fact-check, Uncategorized

By Anurag Kundu

Sanjay Kumar submitted few photos he captured while travelling in the Metro and requested us to Fact-Check them.

Claim #1: CCTV Cameras in MCD Schools For Better Monitoring

On examination, the claim has been found false and misleading.

As per the documents submitted by the corporations themselves to Planning Department of Government of Delhi in February 2017, SDMC has installed CCTVs in only 22 schools out of 588 schools, North DMC in 0 Schools out of 764 schools, and EDMC in 15 out of 387 schools. Therefore, in a total of 37 of 1739 schools (2%) schools. In those 2% schools, not all classes have been covered. Only 10 classrooms in each school have been covered. This means only half the classrooms have been covered in each school reducing the effective number of schools/classrooms (in equivalent terms) to a mere 1%,

Therefore, we term the claim false and misleading.

 

Claim #2:  Largest Plant to Convert Waste to Energy Started

On examination, the claim has been found partially false since the plant has been inaugurated but not made operational yet.

The plant in question is a Waste-To-Energy plant in Narela-Bawana. The plant was inaugurated in March 2017.  However, the plant was expected to be operational by 2013 since the tendering had been done in 2009. This is the third waste-to-energy plant that is slated to produce 24-mega watt energy from 2,000 metric tonnes of garbage. The project, however, is yet to become operational.

The claim, therefore, is partially false!

 

Claim #3:  Birth Certificate, Death Certificate, Tendering, Property Tax, etc. now online

On examination, the claims have been found majorly false and partially true.

Since the MCD has launched several other e-initiatives with fanfare, I am including them too. It includes online RTI Application, Grievance Redressal System, and Nursery Admission. Let’s examine each one by one:

  1. Birth/Death Certificate: MCD has made a provision of securing the birth/death certificates online. The local body has partnered with the institutions where birth and deaths take place (hospitals etc.) by means of which the institutions register the birth or death and the people can simply obtain their certificate from MCD’s website after 21 days. Therefore, the claim has been found to be true.
  2. Property Tax: It can be paid online only for properties that are under the net. As per The Hindu report, only 30-40% properties are under the net. Therefore, the claim is only partially true.
  3. Online RTI Application: MCD had become the first department in the country to receive online applications through its portal in 2011. However, the website for online submission of RTI Applications has been dysfunctional for more than 5 years now. Hence, the claim is false.
  4. Online Grievance Redressal: Several evidence exist that establish that Delhi Municipal Corporation Public Grievance System fare the worst in the country. Though the Municipal Corporation has online portal for grievance redressal. However, no actions are initiated or grievances resolved for submissions through online portal. Hence, the claim is false.
  5. Online Nursery Admission: Municipal Corporation of Delhi has a dedicated portal for online Nursery Admissions. However, the portal shows “Admissions Are Not Opened” all round the year including the current admission cycle. Hence, the claim is false.
  6. Tendering: Some of the tendering process is online, though some remain offline. Therefore, the claim is partially true.

Of the 6 services that BJP has claimed making online, 3 claims are false, 2 partially true and 1 completely true. Hence, their truth score is a mere 30%!