Queen's remark swings Gujral into cleaning Delhi

'Dirty Delhi' will, in a short while, be as clean as it ever can.

The phrase in quotes, dear readers, is a royal one -- it fell from the lips of none other than Queen Elizabeth II. And look what it's doing to New Delhi!

Hardly has 48 hours passed since the queen uttered those magical words than Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral swung Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna and Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma into fierce action.

For starters, the duo made surprise visits to the New Delhi area (including the railway station) and met senior New Delhi Municipal Council, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi government officials.

The resultant orders include clearing the umpteen jhuggis (shanties) in and around the city. From now, no public rallies or demonstrations will be allowed in the Jantar Mantar area. And the obscenely dirty railway station surrounding would be spruced up on a war footing.

The space vacated by the jhuggis would, according to a Raj Niwas statement, be redeveloped by the NDMC.

Thanks to the proliferation of rallies and demonstrations in the Jantar Mantar area, a virtual slum had mushroomed around it, with participants pitching tents at the drop of the hat and living happily ever after. All this, the authorities have decided, will stop now.

The Lt Governor suggested assigning the municipal corporation to clean up the railway station. A redevelopment plan for the shopping area, he told attentive officials, need to be framed immediately. Measures should also be taken to widen the access to the station from the Paharganj side.

As for the Ajmeri gate side, that too has to be spruced. Noting the insanitary conditions thereabout, the Lt Governor directed the authorities to clean it up immediately.

"Cleaning operations should be monitored regularly," he instructed.

Directions have already been issued to repair roads. Foot-paths, pavements and service lanes will be properly repaired and maintained, and the collection and disposal of garbage ensured, the press release said.

Gujral, sources say, had called Khanna, Verma, Delhi Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and senior civic officers and expressed his utter 'disgust' at the state of the capital. The queen, he said, even during her brief sojourn in the city, had noted the insanitary conditions -- weren't they ashamed?

Verma's defence to the queen's observation was that the Centre was not releasing funds for various schemes.

''Castles," he reportedly told Gujral, "cannot be built in the air or on empty pockets."

UNI