Kejriwal orders CAG audit of DJB accounts since 2008

Besides the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government since 2015, the audit will also cover the duration when Delhi was governed by the Congress

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered the audit of the Delhi Jal Board accounts since 2008 by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG ) amid allegations of misappropriation of funds by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), the government announced on Wednesday.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the audit after allegations of irregularities by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. (ANI Photo)

Besides the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government since 2015, the audit will also cover the duration when Delhi was governed by the Congress.

“We have ordered a CAG audit of the last 15 years of records of the Delhi Jal Board. CAG is a third-party and the biggest agency in the country. Things will become clearer now. ...If someone has committed irregularities, they should be punished. If no irregularities have been committed, then those who levelled baseless allegations will get to know,” Kejriwal said while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Delhi assembly.

The chief minster also said that there could be a “water and sewage crisis” in the Capital in the coming days since funds have not been released to the water utility --- an allegation that was levelled by water minister Atishi in November 21. However, the jal board had then clarified that there was water supply crisis in the Capital.

DJB, which is under the Delhi government, is responsible for supply of potable water to the Capital; and treatment and disposal of sewage.

The allegations by the chief minster reflected the ongoing friction between the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi and the BJP-ruled centre ever since the GNDTC Act was amended that gives the Centre control over transfer and posting of bureaucrats in the national Capital.

Later, addressing in a press conference Atishi said, “CM Arvind Kejriwal has decided to get CAG audit done of all the accounts of Delhi Jal Board from 2008 till date. If any kind of corruption or any irregularity has been done, the Delhi government will take the strictest action against it. Kejriwal government maintains zero tolerance against corruption.”

The minister also mentioned the non-disbursal of funds for DJB. She said the problem of funds started after the “introduction of GNCTD Amendment Act which gave the power to take disciplinary action against officers to the lieutenant governor (LG).”

Officials in the LG secretariat did not comment on the matter.

The BJP and the AAP have been sparring over alleged irregularities in the DJB for the past couple of months. Delhi BJP had last week alleged corruption in the allocation of works for the upgrading DJB’s ten sewage treatment plants, and demanded a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva had also written to LG VK Saxena, requesting him to order an investigation into the matter.

‘Financial crisis’

The AAP government has maintained that the DJB is facing “financial crisis” because the finance department has not released the necessary funds to the agency.

In an official note released on Wednesday, Atishi said the finance department stopped the release of the second instalment of funds allocated to the DJB under the budget estimates of 2023-24, alleging financial mismanagement.

Atishi, in the note, said, “There must be absolutely zero tolerance to financial mismanagement by any government agency. However, the finance department has not pointed at any specific instances of financial impropriety in Delhi Jal Board, neither has it identified any errant officials who may have enabled the financial impropriety. In the light of the allegations made by the finance department, it has become necessary to assess the state of finances of DJB, particularly the utilisation of funds in the past years.”

An official in the finance department said ₹1,598 crore was released to the DJB in June this year and further funds will be released based on the progress of works.

Last week, the DJB informed the Delhi high court that it submitted a final annual account report for three years (from 2015 to 2018) with CAG, as prescribed under the law.

However, the annual accounts for 2018-21 are yet to be audited by the CAG or the accountant general.

DJB had also informed the court that to expedite the audit process it will appoint a nodal officer for supervision of annual accounts, adding that the observations made by CAG “will be responded to as early as possible and preferably within three months after receiving the same”.

Sachdeva on Wednesday alleged that the AAP government was “covering up the scams in DJB”.

“The BJP will continue to expose more scams of the DJB. The accounts of DJB have not been prepared since 2017-18, so we fail to understand which accounts will be submitted to CAG for audit?”

The BJP leader also junked claims by the AAP that officers were not releasing funds. “The officers are not refusing to give funds, they are only asking for the account of the funds released in the past,” he said.