Delhi govt failed to control pollution: Virendra Sachdeva
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Wednesday blamed the AAP government for the deteriorating air quality in the city, saying it has utterly failed to control pollution.
In the wake of allegations of financial irregularities and corruption, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) to conduct an audit of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event in Delhi on Wednesday, Kejriwal confirmed that the government had ordered an audit of the DJB accounts of past 15 years from 2008 onwards. The action was necessitated in view of the allegations of the Opposition against the functioning of the board.
The audit by the CAG, a third party and one of the prominent agencies of the nation, he said, is expected to bring out the truth about the alleged irregularities in the DJB.
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He asserted anyone found guilty of wrongdoing shall be punished, but in case the audit does not come up with any such corruption, it would serve a as a befitting reply to all those leveling allegations against the DJB.
Replying to a question on the funds not being released to the DJB, Kejriwal said it is because the officials are no longer answerable to the elected government. If the same continues, it will make things difficult for the government to run the administration.
He hinted at a crisis looming on Delhi with regard to water supply and sewage as funds were not being released to the Jal board. Sewers are already overflowing in some areas as maintenance works are not being done as the officials were not releasing funds.
“They have not yet released the second installment of grant-in-aid due the DJB,” Kejriwal lamented.
Meanwhile, Delhi Water Minister Atishi, addressing a press conference on the issue, assured that the Kejriwal government has zero tolerance towards corruption. She said that government would soon decide the terms of the audit with the CAG.
The minister said all the accounts of the DJB will be audited by the CAG since 2008. He said no one guilty of corruption will be spared. She blamed the GNCTD Act that vests all powers over officials in the LG for the situation. Lamenting that the Finance Department was not listening to the ministers, she regretted that the public is bearing the brunt as work is getting affected.
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