LG Saxena slams Delhi Jal Board for deliberately denying drinking water to slum dwellers

New Delhi [India], June 16 : Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena came down heavily on the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for deliberately denying drinking water and sewerage connections to slum dwellers at a recent meeting of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

DJB Vice-Chairman and AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, who is also an Authority Member, was present at the meeting.

Saxena termed this deliberate stonewalling on the part of the DJB that was depriving the poorest of the poor with something as basic as water, as unfortunate and requested Somnath Bharti to avoid playing politics when it came to the welfare of the people of Delhi.

It may be noted that the requests from DDA for the supply of water and laying of sewer lines is pending with the DJB since as early as 2013 in the case of Kalkaji and 2017 in the case of Jailorwala Bagh, the release stated.

Taking strong exception to welfare of the poorest of the poor being put to political ransom by the DJB, LG Saxena pointed out that just during the last one month, he had allotted 17 pieces of land to the DJB for its various projects. The DDA or the LG had not demanded to barter the land given to DJB with water supply to the slum rehabilitation projects, the release read.

"Thousands of slum dwellers from the Kalkaji Bhoomiheen Camp, who were shifted to modern multi-storey flats in November last year, are facing acute water crisis with Delhi Jal Board under AAP CM Arvind Kejriwal refusing to provide drinking water to the occupants of these flats. DDA has been supplying water to these people through tankers," it read.

The AAP Government has been sitting over the DDA's request to provide water supply to the project that houses more than 2000 families. This intransigence on the part of DJB is despite the fact that it had approved the drawings for laying of pipelines for water supply and sewerage way back in 2019 following DDA's demand to this effect in 2014, it read.

DDA, which had made all required payments in this regard in 2019 itself, has been writing consistently to the DJB, the last being a letter from VC (DDA) to CEO (DJB) on May 24, 2023.

Similarly, for the Jailorwala Bagh in situ rehabilitation project that is ready for possession by another 1800 slum dweller families, the DJB has not till now even cleared the drawings for the laying down of water and sewer pipelines, despite the request to this effect having been made by the DDA as far back as in 2017.

Persistent stonewalling by DJB led to the VC (DDA) escalating the matter to the Lt. Governor through a letter on June 2, 2023, it further said.

Thereafter, the matter was taken up by the Lt Governor in the Authority meeting of DDA, where Member of the Authority, MLA Somnath Bharti, who is also the Vice-Chairman of DJB, was present and cornered, it read.

The Kalkaji in situ rehabilitation project of the DDA that can house over 3000 slum dweller families was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 2, 2022, when he handed over keys to the beneficiaries at a widely reported function in Vigyan Bhawan. Similarly, the Jailorwala Bagh Project of the DDA which can house 1800 families is ready for allotment to slum dwellers, but it yet does not have the essential water supply and sewerage pipeline laid, in the absence of clearance by the Kejriwal Government, the release said.

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