New Delhi: Has MCD become a haven for corrupt officials? The official data indicates so.
Sample this: There are about 4,300 corruption cases against MCD employees in which the investigations are pending, some of them for more than three decades.
In reply to an RTI query, the Public Information Officer of Vigilance department of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said that as many as 4,299 cases were pending against about 3,350 officials. The employee strength of the civic body is around 1.5 lakh.
Out of the registered cases, 1,435 cases were by anti-corruption branch of the Delhi Government, Police and CBI whereas 2,877 such cases were registered by the MCD's vigilance wing.
The Anti-Corruption branch has registered 40 cases under different sections of Prevention of Corruption Act against 100 MCD officials and some other private persons.
Most of the tainted MCD officials, working at middle and senior levels like zonal incharge, superintendent and executive engineers, have over two to three such cases against them, the RTI reply said.
Exercising his right to information, Vivek Garg, an RTI activist and advocate, sought data related to cases awaiting prosecution in the last 25 years.
"The information was initially denied by the PIO. I filed first appeal after that they sent me 96-page list containing name of officials in MCD against whom departmental action and police cases are pending," Garg said.
Even more discouraging is the fact that three officials retired from the MCD without completing the probe in such cases.
"MCD has become the nerve centre of corruption. Accused in connivance with other corrupt officials have avoided probe and prosecution in cases against them," Garg said.
However, Chief Vigilance Officer of MCD Pradeep Shrivastava refused to comment over the issue.
When contacted, MCD Commissioner K S Mehra expressed unawareness over the issue and said he will be able to comment on it after some time.