Delhi L-G V.K. Saxena accuses AAP of using water crisis to gain political mileage

Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena on Saturday squarely pinned the blame for the ongoing water shortage in the Capital on the AAP government, saying that Delhi is “witnessing a travesty of governance” with political leaders turning a crisis into an opportunity to gain political mileage.

“It is saddening to see the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government hurling accusations and abuses as a matter of routine instead of choosing the path of dialogue. In times of adversity, goodwill matters — be it in interpersonal or institutional relations. This is the reason that Delhi finds itself isolated and snubbed, even in times of dire need,” Mr. Saxena said in a statement.

Rebutting the L-G’s allegations, Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that as a constitutional functionary, blaming the ruling party of Delhi while “turning a blind eye” to the hard facts of failing water supply to the State by the BJP-ruled Haryana government shows that Mr. Saxena is not functioning as the L-G of Delhi, but “as the L-G of the BJP”.

“We agree with Mr. Saxena that governance should be conducted in a harmonious environment, with a spirit of conciliation and accommodation. But we are unable to understand why he does not hold the BJP-ruled Haryana government to the same yardstick, despite being fully aware that it has been blocking over 100 MGD (million gallons per day) of Delhi’s rightful share of water for the past many days,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.

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‘Devious game’

The L-G said that while dialogue, discussion and delivery are “time-tested principles” which have been the touchstone in reconciling the most difficult competing interests, these principles have been abandoned in the case of Delhi over the last 10 years.

“Instead of trying to solve the issue at hand in an amicable and cooperative manner, the AAP government resorted to a devious political game by blaming Haryana of not releasing water in full media glare on May 22, just two days before the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi. The aim was obviously to prejudice the voter,” he said.

He added that even after remaining in power for a decade, the government has failed to add a single litre to the water treatment capacity or invest resources in the repair and leakage of old pipes, which it inherited from the previous Congress government.

“By the government’s own admission, in its economic survey, 40% of water in Delhi is wasted. A network of illegal tankers operated by ‘tanker mafia’ under political patronage is bleeding the city. This happened even as Haryana kept supplying the share of water assigned to it,” the L-G said.

He added that in the Munak canal, which supplies water to six out of the seven water treatment plants in Delhi, disrepair of the lining is leading to losses ranging from 5-25% between Kakroi in Haryana and Bawana in Delhi. He said he had previously highlighted the same issue with Water Minister Atishi, but to no avail.

However, Mr. Bharadwaj said the L-G has “conveniently ignored” the efforts of the government to modernise Delhi’s distribution system and prevent water loss in the last nine years. “The government has spent about ₹500 crore to construct a carrier-lined channel to reduce water loss, and has replaced 3,500 km of old pipelines in the last eight years,” he said. To reduce illegal tapping and water theft, over 7,300 km of new pipelines have been laid in 10 years, of which 5,200 km are in unauthorised colonies and 2,100 km in rural areas and urban villages, he added.

“The L-G has chosen once again to raise the bogey of leakages and private water tanker mafia within Delhi. If this is the cause of the present water crisis, did this not exist before June 6 , when there was no water crisis in Delhi? For the last two weeks, teams of the Delhi Police, which report directly to the L-G, have constantly been patrolling the water pipelines of the Delhi Jal Board. Why doesn’t the LG make it public how many private tanker mafia operators have been caught or how many FIRs have been filed?” Mr. Bharadwaj said.

‘Absence of seriousness’

In his statement, Mr. Saxena pointed out that the “absence of seriousness in governance” was disturbing.

“As the constitutional head of Delhi, I feel anguished at the approach of the AAP government on almost every subject concerning governance and the delivery of services to the people,” he said.

He added that conflict, fights, one-upmanship and political posturing cannot be tools of governance in perpetuity. “An approach of habitual antagonism towards the Centre and other State governments is counterproductive. It can only take one so far and the biggest sufferer in this game is none but the ordinary resident of Delhi,” he said.