NEW DELHI
Even as the war of words has continued among political parties on the issue of alleged water shortage in the capital city, an official from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has claimed that the water supply in the city has been normal and there was no shortage of water in the city.
Earlier, Delhi Water Minister Atishi Singh said, “Soon Delhi will face a water crisis, attributing this to the Finance Secretary for stopping the release of a tranche of funds to DJB.” However, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said, “The Delhi Jal Board not only needs to be audited, but also requires a judicial inquiry.”
The water utility has supplied 1003.6 million gallons per day (MGD) of water, which is above the normal capacity of the water treatment plants, so Delhiites should not be worried about a supply failure in the near future, said a DJB official. Earlier, the Delhi government warned about an imminent water crisis due to DJB funds being stopped. However, a senior DJB official said: “The supply is above normal levels. The production from groundwater sources such as tube wells and ranney wells is around 135 MGD. DJB plants have supplied 868.66 MGD against the normal capacity of 821 MGD.”
Delhi Water Minister, Atishi Singh, has blamed Finance Secretary Ashish Verma for stopping the release of a tranche of funds to DJB, She also wrote to the L-G asking for his intervention, claiming that the national capital might plunge into a “man-made” water and sanitation crisis in the coming days. However, the Finance Secretary said that the government provides grants only for new work, and funds for projects are to be released only on the basis of progress on the ground.
On the other hand, former Delhi BJP President and MP Manoj Tiwari said while addressing the press that the Delhi Jal Board has become synonymous with the corruption of the Arvind Kejriwal government. “The Delhi Jal Board not only needs to be audited, but also requires a judicial inquiry,” he said. Tiwari said that in the last five years, the Delhi government has given loans and grants worth Rs 12,700 crore to the Delhi Jal Board, but there is no accounting of this money. Whenever the Finance Department asked for accounts, the Kejriwal government started playing the victim card, and instead of giving the accounts, Water Minister Atishi started threatening a water crisis in Delhi.