Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said cabinet minister Atishi’s statement that water is being blocked from Haryana to create a shortage in Delhi, is a “blatant lie”.
Sachdeva, sharpening his attack, claimed that her statement was a betrayal to the people of Delhi as well as an insult to the people of Haryana, as regular water supply is being received in Delhi from Haryana.
He further said that it was the failure of the Kejriwal government in Delhi which is unable to curb water theft and supply loss, also not formulating a summer action plan, which was responsible for the shortage of water in the city.
Delhi BJP Media Head Praveen Shankar Kapoor who was also present in the press conference alleged that Delhi government has exploited ground water to an extent that Delhi is now above Chennai in terms of water crisis.
Sachdeva further said that during the last eight days, Delhi has been producing more than 956 MGD of water from its established water production capacity.
Giving out figures of water production here between May 14 – May 21, the Delhi BJP chief claimed that the numbers also reflect the increased production.
Sachdeva said that apart from this, it is clear from the available data of DJB that the water level of the Yamuna in Wazirabad, where the river enters Delhi, was better on a daily basis, as compared to rhe water level in the same month during the past years.
This is especially compared to the dates between May 15 and 21, 2024, compared to May 2021 and May 2022, the BJP leader added.
He further attacked Delhi government, claiming that amidst the already scorching heat, the severe water shortage faced by the people of Delhi is entirely due to the incompetence, incapability, and lack of preparedness of the AAPa government here, and especially pointed out at Delhi CM and the water minister, holding them responsible for the problem.
Elaborating on the issue, the BJP leader said that every year, under the direct supervision of the CM the government holds meetings to prepare a summer action plan to deal with the water crisis and availability during the season.
The first meeting of this nature takes place at the end of March and the final form of the summer action plan is given by the end of April when the temperature begins to rise, he added.
However, due to the lack of time for the Chief Minister and his incompetent Water Minister to address the concerns of the people of Delhi, they are busy in politics, Sachdeva accused, further alleging that Delhi government has neither paid attention to stopping water theft nor has it brought a summer action plan to stop supply loss.
Speaking on the issue of water supply from Haryana, Sachdeva said that despite a decrease in the level of the Yamuna river due to the heat, only a shortage of 20-50 MGD out of the allocated 548 MGD has occurred.
However, this shortage has been completely fulfilled by directly lifting water from the Yamuna by the Delhi Jal Board, despite no provision being allocated for this lift, he said, further claiming that in addition to this, the Delhi government has reduced downstream supply for Faridabad.
Sachdeva further informed that the Wazirabad water treatment plant, which has a production capacity of 131 MGD, is working below its capacity, only because there is not enough water available in its reservoir area before the Wazirabad barrage, he claimed.
He added that the reason behind the less water in the reservoir at Wazirabad is that de- silting from behind the barrage has not been done for the past 11 years, and the capacity of the reservoir has resulted in a decrease of its capacity by more than 90 per cent, he claimed.
It is emphasized that DJB still has 981.89 MGD of water available today, and it needs to be distributed to the people of Delhi in a planned manner according to the summer action plan, Sachdeva added.