Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav wrote to the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) for a demand for investigation into an alleged scam of Rs 17,575 crore in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

He said while the primary reason for the acute water shortage in Delhi is purported to be leakage of water from the DJB, in reality the water is being diverted to the “tanker mafia” in a case of misappropriation.

In his letter to the CVC, the Delhi Congress chief said, “Delhi is currently experiencing a severe water scarcity resulting from a mismatch between demand and supply. The prevailing heat-wave conditions are exacerbating the crisis. However, a significant contributor to the shortage is the leakage of water from the Delhi Jal Board, which is being diverted into the hands of tanker mafias.”

Claiming that there has been a significant uptick in the volume of leaked water in recent years, as indicated by government-provided data, with figures climbing from 42 per cent in 2019-20 to 58.28 per cent in 2022-23, he said, “This notable 16.28 per cent surge over a span of three years is deeply worrisome.”

“It becomes even more noteworthy when considering the substantial investments made by the DJB from its budget toward the replacement and installation of supply lines. With an annual allocation of approximately Rs 30 crore for metering and leakage management, the escalation of this trend becomes even more perplexing. Even if 10-20 per cent leakages are justified due to transmission and distribution loss, approximate loss of Rs 17,575 crore suffered by the DJB,” Yadav said.

He said in the three areas where public-private partnership (PPP) projects are operational, leakages stand at just 26 per cent, and such a significant disparity has raised suspicions of organised “malpractice by the tanker mafia, officials and ruling party politicians in the water supply.”

Stating that Congress has been raising the issue of tanker mafia operating in Delhi, Yadav said, “The CVC should make a thorough and unbiased investigation in this matter, and FIR should be filed against the guilty.”