Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on September 7 stressed that the city police should safeguard assets created and upgraded for the G20 Summit and ensure these are not stolen or damaged after the key meeting.
In a telephonic interview to PTI, the senior AAP leader said that for such events, proper planning has to be done so that people are not inconvenienced.
"It is good that such events are being held in Delhi. But there is a caveat. For the last 10 days, people are facing traffic jams. If you want the support of people for such events, it has to be ensured that they are not inconvenienced. There should be proper planning by Delhi Police and its traffic unit for it," he said.
Mr. Bharadwaj said that Delhi Police has to ensure strict action against those who steal or tamper with the assets that have been created in Delhi for the summit.
In the run-up to the summit, there has been a controversy over allocation of funds for the beautification of Delhi.
Union minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Monday claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government did nothing for Delhi's development in its nine-year rule and it was the Centre that bore almost all the expenses for G20 Summit preparations in the city.
Responding to the charge, Mr. Bharadwaj claimed, “I can say with responsibility that the Centre did not provide any fund. I have a file in which the Chief Secretary himself wrote that all departments have to spend their own money. Manish Sisodia (former Deputy Chief Minister) had written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for funds for the summit. There was no response from the Centre.” The senior leader also accused the Centre of “step-motherly” treatment and stressed that it was Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who directed that the work should not be stopped.
Talking about the preparations in case there is heavy rains, Mr. Bharadwaj, who also holds the flood and irrigation portfolio, said, “Even if it rains in Delhi for three days, there will be no flooding.” This monsoon, several parts of the national capital witnessed flooding.
Mr. Bharadwaj, who also holds the health portfolio, stressed that they are fully prepared for any kind of medical emergency during the G20 Summit.
"There are doctors who will be deployed 24X7 at hotels. Advanced life support ambulances will accompany carcades. Ambulances have also been deployed at strategic locations," he said.
The G20 Summit will be held from September 9 to 10 at the newly built international convention and exhibition centre — Bharat Mandapam — at Pragati Maidan. It will be attended by a host of world leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.
