Lekhi alleges Rs 3,735-cr scam in Delhi Jal Board

PTI

New Delhi, November 18

Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi on Saturday alleged a scam of Rs 3,735 crore in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) under AAP government, citing various accounting-related irregularities since 2017.

No immediate reaction was available from the Delhi government or the DJB over Lekhi’s charges. In a joint press conference with Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, she alleged that issuing of tenders was avoided for 12,000 work orders worth Rs 600 crore by keeping the value of each below Rs 5 lakh.

Sachdeva said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should refer the “scam” to the CBI and ED for probe. If he fails to do so, the BJP will urge the Lieutenant Governor to do it, he added.

AAP and Kejriwal used to allege that the water tanker mafia existed during the Sheila Dikshit government, but they exist even now, Lekhi charged.

“The accounts have not been maintained since 2017 and they are trying to hide the details. While an amount of Rs 1,601 crore is missing from the books, there is a mismatch of Rs 1,167 crore between the DJB’s financial statement and the conciliation statement of banks. Also, there is no trace of Rs 135 crore term deposit,” she alleged.

Lekhi further alleged there was a “scam of Rs 3,735 crore under various heads” in the forms of financial accounting irregularities, adjustments and re-adjustments, missing fixed deposits and likewise.