Cabinet Minister Atishi on Tuesday said the Capital is staring at a serious drinking water crisis and accused the Finance Department of not releasing funds required by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to maintain the supply. The Minister said the funds have been witheld on the directions of Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar.
In a communication to Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, she also sought the suspension of Principal Secretary (Finance) Ashish C. Verma, whom she accused of adopting an “obstructionist” approach towards the release of funds.
The Chief Secretary did not respond to calls and messages for comment. When contacted, Mr. Verma rejected the charges.
The Minister said not releasing the funds could lead to an “unprecedented public health crisis” as the Delhi Jal Board Contractors’ Welfare Association has threatened to stop working, if their dues are not cleared.
“Many officers have approached me in confidence and said that they have been threatened by the Chief Secretary, who has told them that if they cooperate with the elected government, a vigilance inquiry would be initiated against them and they would be suspended,” Ms. Atishi alleged.
“This has created a policy paralysis within the Delhi government across departments as no officer is willing to work or sign on any files. Never before has such a situation been seen in Delhi in 75 years of Independence,” the Minister said, seeking the L-G’s intervention.
“The withholding of funds can lead to a public health crisis. Soon, the sewer lines will be overflowing and large parts of Delhi will get contaminated water. There will be water shortage as well,” the Minister’s communication to the L-G read.
She said in the budget for the current fiscal, her government had earmarked a grant-in-aid of ₹4,839.5 crore for the DJB. While the first instalment of ₹1,598 crore was released in May, the subsequent instalments were not released, the Minister said.
When contacted, Mr. Verma said that the Minister’s claim of delay in getting the grant-in-aid is wrong. “About a week ago, we had asked for geotagging details of works as per rules to release the grant-in-aid to the DJB. As and when they submit the geotagging details, we will release the funds,” he said.
Mr. Verma said the grant-in-aid has nothing to do with salaries of employees or existing sewage or water treatment plants and that the DJB is supposed to meet this expenditure from its own resources.
“The grant-in-aid given by the Delhi government is for new works and the claim that the salaries [of employees] and water supply will be affected due to the delay in the release of the grant-in-aid is wrong,” the officer said.
