[ad_1]
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (Left) and L-G VK Saxena (Right)
In a strongly-worded 24-point open letter addressed to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena dismantled the AAP government’s ‘free water’ promise to the citizens of the national capital.
In response to a letter by Water Minister Atishi, where she blamed the Delhi Jal Board for the water woes in the city, the Delhi L-G said that in doing so, she had “ironically indicted her government of more than 09 years”.
“Having underlined the inadequate supply of water as the cause behind the incident, Atishi has ironically indicted her government of more than 09 years. Her note indeed is a prima facie admission of guilt, inaction and inefficiency over the past almost 10 years,” the L-G stated.
“The Minister has yet again targeted the Chief Secretary, the Chief Executive Officer of the DJB, officers of Finance and Urban Development Department. It has almost now become habitual on part of your Ministers to blame officers for their own failures, be it in the field of health, hospitals, sanitation, education or water supply,” the L-G wrote in his letter.
Accusing the AAP government of betraying the masses who voted them to power, L-G Saxena said, “Instead of fixing the iniquitous water supply, you and your Ministers created a chimera of free water. Deception of people has been mastered into an art form by you and your Ministers.”
The L-G presented data to allege a “grossly skewed water distribution” in the city.
“Of about 2.5 crore people in the city, more than 2 crore (over 80%) people are deprived of drinking water supply in varying degrees, especially in unauthorised colonies, slum clusters and to a lesser extent, even in organised developed colonies.
“The rich in the city… have round the clock water supply.. as high as 500 litre per person per day – which translates to nearly 35 buckets of water per person per day. On the other extreme.. poor people in slums.. barely receiving a trickle.. In some cases, water is supplied on alternate days. Water availability is less than 50 litre per person per day in poor colonies, even as, you and your ministers kept making false assurances of giving 24X7 water supply. In effect, while you promised free water to poor, they ended up getting no water.”