Members of FedAOA, the apex body of AOAs from Ghaziabad, on March 16 accused GDA officials of misbehaviour and bribery at a meeting with the Authority.
FedAOA members said a tiff broke out between them and the Ghaziabad Development Authority officials when they went to the latter's office to complain about inaction on the repeated sewer overflows and charging of bribes every time the Authority's sewage super-sucker machines were deployed to pump out accumulated waste water from basements and low-lying areas.
They also said that the civic authority had failed to act on the issue despite order of the Allahabad High Court last year.
Speaking to City Spidey, Alok Kumar, patron of FedAOA and AOA member of Arihant Harmony in Indirapuram, said they had gone to the GDA office to discuss certain issues with vice-chairman Vijay Yadav. According to Kumar, Yadav summoned Chakresh Jain, executive engineer of GDA, to respond to their queries.
"When Jain was faced with the question of super sucker operators seeking bribes, Jain justified the monetary transaction saying the money was required to run the chain," said the FedAOA members. They also alleged that Jain threatened to convert Indirapuram into a dumpyard in retaliation to their allegations.
Similar sentiments were shared by DK Maurya, general secretary of FedAOA and an AOA member of Niho Scottish Gardens. Maurya said it was a shame that the officials who were appointed to serve the public were in turn harassing them.
When contacted, Chakresh Jain refused to comment on the issue, saying Yadav, the GDA vice-president, was also present at the meeting.
City Spidey discussed the issue with Yadav. He said the entire process of laying sewer lines was under way and the officials were searching for a viable solution. He also said there were several roadblocks in the way of the development work. “CISF had objections to the work and they had to be sorted out," said Yadav. "We were about to sanction the work plan of the consultant today itself. The works were held, as the model code conduct had been imposed in the district for elections,” he added.
When asked about the allegations of bribery and misbehaviour, Yadav said residents had never raised an official complaint regarding the issue of bribes being charged by the super-sucker machine operators. “A government can act only on official complaints made on pen and paper and it does not happen on telephonic conversations,” said Yadav.
Speaking about Chakresh Jain's misbehaviour, Yadav said it was a spontaneous reaction, as he was an official with an impeccable track record and the allegations hurt his sentiments. “It is only natural that an officer of Jain’s stature would react when faced with such baseless allegations,” Yadav added.
However, FedAOA members said they were set to approach the Uttar Pradesh Lok Ayukt in Lucknow with the issue soon.
