NEW DELHI: Two days after Water Minister Atishi warned that the city might face a water crisis, the Delhi Jal Board on Thursday clarified that there was no need to panic. This could spark a fresh tussle between the bureaucracy and the political leadership.
Going against the claims made by its own minister, the water agency said it is in a position to cater to any emergency.On Tuesday Atishi alleged that the finance department was not releasing funds to the DJB despite several written orders by the city government.In her communication with L-G VK Saxena, she demanded the suspension of finance secretary Ashish Verma for stopping the funds since August at the behest of the chief secretary.
“It is clarified that DJB does not anticipate any such disruption in its services and DJB is fully geared to meet its responsibilities insofar as the regular supply of water and sewerage services are concerned. There is absolutely no reason to panic … the services provided to the people will continue effectively and efficiently… The DJB is in a position to cater to any urgent nature of work in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of water and sewerage services,” the statement read.
The government responded by saying that official documents show that DJB has been demanding the finance department release the second installment of dues since August. “This has led to pendency in the clearance of bills. Contractors have told us that all ongoing works are being stopped till payments are cleared,” it said.
The DJB statement also bypassed the approval of its chief and vice-chairperson Somnath Bharti, a senior AAP leader.Bharti told this newspaper that the statement was issued at the behest of the L-G office. “Officials who are supposed to report to me are being manipulated by the L-G who is being used by the BJP.”
