Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday directed DUSIB CEO to take appropriate action against three senior officers for not complying with his direction to inspect homeless shelters.
In a note to the CEO of Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), the minister said taking into account the prevailing heat wave, he had given verbal instructions regarding appropriate arrangements in homeless shelters.
“On 10th June, I flagged a news story regarding issues with night shelters. On 11th June, I had given written directions to assign three senior officers to do surprise inspections of at least five homeless shelters. The three officers namely SK Singh, PK Jha and Fonia were supposed to inspect these shelters and submit the list of deficiencies found to the undersigned on 18th June. I had expected an inspection report of at least 90 night shelters to be submitted by yesterday,” he said.
Bharadwaj further said, “Till date, I have not received the inspection reports from DUSIB. Therefore, you are directed to take appropriate action against the officers for not complying with the directions.”
He said that the night shelters are managed by private agencies and they are paid for their services.
“In the first place, agencies should provide the services without fail. However, if services are not being provided and officers are complacent, then senior officers are expected to do surprise checks and identify the deficiencies. This is to ensure accountability of the agencies as well as officers of DUSIB. However, non-receipt of reports from the senior most officers of DUSIB is not acceptable,” the minister added.