Delhi: What is the water tanker scam?

The Rs 400-crore water tanker scam pertains to alleged irregularities and corruption in hiring private water tankers to supply in areas where piped water is not supplied.

The Case

Residents fill their containers with water from a municipal tanker in New Delhi. (HT Photo)

The Rs 400-crore water tanker scam pertains to alleged irregularities and corruption in hiring private water tankers to supply in areas where piped water is not supplied.

The irregularities are said to have happened in 2012, when Congress’s Sheila Dikshit was the chief minister and also the chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

The Inquiry

In June 2015, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government set up a five-member fact-finding committee to probe the allegations.

The committee submitted its report to Kejriwal in August 2015, and highlighted corruption in the awarding of tenders.

It had recommended filing of a First Information Report (FIR) against Sheila Dikshit and a probe by the CBI and the ACB. The report was also sent to the then Delhi Lieutenant-Governor, Najeeb Jung, who had sent it to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

The Tangle

In August 2015, then water minister Kapil Mishra is said to have written to Kejriwal, saying that the report could create trouble for people in the AAP government also, apart from Sheila Dikshit.

On June 20, 2016, the ACB registered an FIR not only against Dikshit but also against Kejriwal.

On May 6, 2017 (Saturday), Kejriwal sacked Mishra as water minister and DJB chairperson. The latter claimed he had asked Kejriwal to take action in the case.