Waterlogging in Delhi triggers fresh blame game between AAP, BJP

“On June 5, 2020, Satyendar Jain, and then on July 21, 2023, former water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj issued orders that no official could issue a work order worth even Rs 100 without the approval of the departmental minister — that is the DJB Chairman. This led to a complete breakdown in the maintenance services for the past year,” he further claimed, demanding Bharadwaj’s resignation.

Contending Sachdeva’s allegations, the AAP said that these were administrative orders that were changed from time to time and that the sewage problem in the Capital stems from an “artificially created financial crisis” in the DJB “orchestrated by the Lieutenant Governor and BJP-controlled officers.”

“Despite the Delhi government allocating Rs 7,195 crore — 9.5% of the total budget —to the DJB, the agency remains starved of funds. This is due to files endlessly shuttling between the DJB, Urban Development Department, and Finance Department, leading to the ongoing crisis. The BJP through its LG and bureaucracy has turned Delhi into a living hell,” the AAP alleged.

On the other hand, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav alleged that the civic infrastructure in the Capital was in a dilapidated state. The AAP had come to power by giving a “false hope” of improving civic services in the city even as nothing had been done to set this right, he added.

“Neither Manish Sisodia nor Water Minister Atishi bothered about waterlogging in the Capital. When it rained today many parts of Delhi went under water, but no Delhi minister was around to see the plight of the people stuck in traffic jams, and water-logged streets,” Yadav alleged.