Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi orders action against official facing bribery charge

DELHI: Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Thursday directed the commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi to take action against a senior officer who was accused of bribery in a case of house tax evasion. Oberoi also directed the commissioner to relieve the officer, Kunal Kashyap, of all responsibilities and appoint an officer of "impeccable integrity" in his place, her office said in a press statement.
"As per the complaints, the chief assessor and collector, Kunal Kashyap, purportedly provided undue favours to the influential person in the said case of house tax evasion to the tune of Rs 4 crore. This instance has also raised suspicion on the quantum of loss faced by MCD due to such cases," the mayor's office stated.
Oberoi has ordered prompt action against the officer. "To ensure transparency and accountability, a comprehensive vigilance check has been directed against the officer, from his date of joining until the present. This investigation aims to shed light on any irregularities that may have occurred during his tenure. The commissioner has also been instructed to withdraw all responsibilities of the officer and appoint an officer of impeccable integrity in his place," the mayor said.
"This step aims to uphold the principles of ethical governance within MCD and restore public trust in its functioning. Allegations and complaints have been received against him in several other cases. We will not tolerate corruption in any form," Oberoi added.
Reacting to this, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor alleged that the AAP's MCD leadership had now decided to start "a street battle with MCD officials like their leaders have been doing with Delhi government officials."
"BJP has always stood by its zero tolerance policy against corruption in administration and it's good that the mayor has announced to follow the same policy. But that does not mean that only one or two specific cases should be highlighted through press conferences. It would be better if the mayor fixes a particular amount of arrear tax after identifying defaulters and issue a generalised prosecution warning instead of raising only two specific cases as it appears to be a case of personal victimisation," he said.