Delhi govt will probe delays in water, sewer work: Atishi

As the assembly session began on Friday, AAP chief whip Dilip Pandey informed the House that several grievances have been taken up speedily in the last week

Water minister Atishi on Friday said the Delhi government will conduct an inquiry into why several sewer-related complaints in the city have remained pending for months, adding that action will be taken against those found to be responsible for the delay.

Atishi was speaking at the Delhi assembly which had passed a resolution on March 9 urging immediate action to address issues of water scarcity and sewage overflow. (HT Photo)

Atishi was speaking at the Delhi assembly which had passed a resolution on March 9 urging immediate action to address issues of water scarcity and sewage overflow, and directed chief secretary Naresh Kumar to fix the issues in a week and submit a report. The minister added that Kumar has submitted the report.

“In the last week, very fast work has been done on the complaints (related to water and sewer). The question arises that when the work can be done in a week, why it was not done earlier? I will order an inquiry into it to find out how work pending for 4-5 months was fixed in 4-5 days. The accountability must be fixed. A white paper should be presented on that... and strong action should be taken,” Atishi said.

As the assembly session began on Friday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief whip Dilip Pandey informed the House that several grievances have been taken up speedily in the last week. “Delhi Jal Board has worked on a war footing in the last five days to resolve grievances. However, strong action needs to be taken against officers who have not done their duties in resolving water and sewerage-related grievances in the last few months,” Pandey said in a fresh resolution he moved on Friday.

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Atishi asked the MLAs to share specific problems related to sewer and water with detailed locations.

Water woes and overflowing sewer lines are the latest flashpoints in the tussle between the AAP-led Delhi government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). AAP recently claimed that BJP leaders were trying to defame the Delhi government by blocking the city’s sewerage network, an allegation the BJP has rejected. It said that AAP has neglected the city’s water crisis and indulged in corruption in DJB.

Atishi said that there is an issue in coordination between DJB, the finance department and the urban development department.

“The last year has brought all the fault lines in coordination to the fore. We are accountable to the people of Delhi,” Atishi said.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP MLA Vijender Gupta said the AAP government has failed to address the longstanding water woes of the city. “The Delhi government is shirking its responsibilities and engaging in theatrics rather than providing tangible solutions. Despite a reported capital expenditure of ₹25,000 crore by DJB, there has been a conspicuous lack of improvement in the water distribution system... 50% of water continues to be lost to leakages, and the situation has been exacerbated by the merging of stormwater drains and sewers, a problem that remains unaddressed by both the AAP and the previous Congress governments,” Gupta said, demanding the release of a white paper on the DJB to shed light on its operations and finances.

The next sitting of the House has been called on March 22 where the chief secretary has been asked to provide a report on resolving the pending issues and providing long-term solutions.