Delhi home minister Ashish Sood on Monday criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and accused them for failing to procure the Bronto Skylift during their tenure, leading to the deaths of nine people of a family in a fire in southwest Delhi’s Palam last week.
“A task force was set up in 2020 after the Arpit Place fire in Karol Bagh in 2019 that killed 17 people. The panel had recommended phased spending for upgrading the fire services in Delhi. The Bronto Skylift was to be imported, and despite receiving approval from the finance department, no fresh tender was issued. The delay continues to affect the fire services in the Capital,” Sood said.
Reacting to Sood, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj’s said: “It is shameful, and shows that the government is running away from its responsibility and instead wants to blame the victims for their family members.”
Addressing the Delhi Assembly, Sood expressed condolences to the victims’ families and outlined steps being taken to strengthen the Delhi Fire Service (DFS). He said the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Delhi government acted promptly after the Palam incident. “Within two hours, chief minister Rekha Gupta ordered a magisterial inquiry and announced compensation. We do not indulge in blame games or vulture politics.”
Moreover, the minister said that though the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) assists in procuring high-end fire safety vehicles and a proposal of ₹197 crore was sent for approval, the tender issued in 2022 came too late, by when the Euro had appreciated against the Rupee, escalating overall costs of importing the machinery.
Sood also referred to past fire incidents in the city to highlight what he described as a “pattern of deflection by the previous government”. He pointed out the 2018 Bawana industrial area fire where 17 people died, the 2019 Arpit Place fire, 43 deaths in Anaj Mandi fire in 2019, and 27 deaths in Mundka industrial area fire in 2022.
“Over the past 11 years, no serious effort was made to reform fire safety rules in mixed land-use areas or to strengthen preparedness in unauthorised colonies, where fire tenders often cannot enter. Magisterial inquiries were ordered only after two fire tragedies –- in the Mundka and the Arpit Place incidents,” he said.
Providing expenditure details, Sood said capital spending on the fire department remained low in previous years — ₹4.72 crore in 2015–16, ₹8 crore in 2016–17, ₹5 crore in 2018–19, and ₹20 crore in 2021–22.
“In contrast, our government has allocated ₹180 crore for 2025-26 for modernising the Delhi Fire Service, much of which has already been used for new fire tenders, equipment, and infrastructure,” he added.
Further, the minister also highlighted outdated communication systems within the department. “A wireless system installed in 1969 is still in use. Once a fire engine leaves, there is no reliable communication until it reaches the site. Firefighters often depend on personal phones, which fail in emergencies. In the past six months, we have initiated a new communication network and command centre,” he said.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the numbers presented by Sood expose the criminal negligence of the previous AAP-led government in the maintenance and upgradation of DFS between 2015 and 2024.
“Arvind Kejriwal is now accountable to the families of those who lost their lives in Delhi fire incidents over the past 11 years,” Sachdeva said at Arpit Palace.
Citing the fire department’s preliminary report on the Palam incident, Sood pointed at the safety lapses. The building reportedly had only one internal staircase with no external access, which became unusable due to heat and smoke. Highly inflammable materials—including garments, cosmetics, thinner, nail polish, and perfume—were stored in the basement. Additionally, an electronic shutter failed to open after the fire broke out, further complicating rescue efforts.
AAP’s Bharadwaj said in a statement, “The government report is labelling normal hosiery and cosmetic material as inflammable, as if the person was storing RDX material or had a petrol tank in his house. This is shameful.”
He added, “The fire brigade and the police are not allowing the residents, the locals, the neighbours to use mattresses which were readily available in the next shop. Instead, they are trying to put the blame on the victim.”