L-G hits out at AAP govt over water scarcity

New Delhi, May 31

Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena on Friday blamed the Delhi Government’s “mismanagement” for the water crisis in the national capital. The L-G said it should stop blaming other government for its failure.

His remarks came after Cabinet Minister Atishi said when the people of Delhi are facing difficulties, the BJP is “doing” dirty politics.

The L-G said, “The extremely irresponsible attitude of the Delhi Government towards the water supply issue has been evident. The government is blaming other states for its failures,” he said.

The L-G said both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are supplying their stipulated quotas of water to Delhi. “Despite this, the biggest reason for a water shortage in the national capital today is that 54 per cent of the water being produced is unaccounted for.

Forty percent of the water is wasted during supply due to old and dilapidated pipelines,” he added.

The L-G added that over the past 10 years, the Delhi Government has spent thousands of crores of rupees on water infrastructure. He said old pipelines could neither be repaired nor replaced. He added that new pipelines have not been adequately laid. “Some water is stolen and sold to the poor by the tanker mafia,” he said.

“In posh areas of Delhi, on an average, 550 litres of water is being supplied per person every day, while in villages and slums, only 15 litres of water is being supplied per person every day,” the L-G said in a statement.

He said except for Wazirabad, all water treatment plants in the national capital are supplying more water than their capacity. “The Wazirabad Treatment Plant is not able to function at its full capacity because the barrage reservoir, where fresh water from Haryana is stored, is filled with silt. It has significantly reduced the reservoir’s capacity from 250 million gallons to just 16 million gallons,” he added.

The L-G criticised the lack of action over the past decade. “To hide its inefficiency, inaction, and inability, it has become the habit of the Delhi Government to blame others for its failure and continue to shirk its responsibilities,”

Responding to the L-G’s statement, the AAP said, “Once again, the L-G is doing cheap and dirty politics with the people of Delhi. Whenever Delhi faces a crisis, it is only the Kejriwal government that looks for solutions, while the L-G resorts to dirty politics. It is clear that he is an outsider who has no interest in the welfare of Delhi or Delhiites. We do not feel it necessary or appropriate to fight with him on every issue.”