Water minister slams L-G’s ‘misleading’ claims

New Delhi: In a recent development, Delhi’s Water minister, Saurabh Bhardwaj, has leveled serious allegations against Lieutenant Governor (L-G) V K Saxena, accusing him of taking undue credit for the efforts of the Kejriwal government in cleaning the Yamuna river. Bhardwaj dismissed the claims made by the L-G’s office as “misleading and baseless.”

The controversy arose after the L-G Secretariat issued a press release claiming a significant reduction in the biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels in the Najafgarh drain, which accounts for around 70 percent of wastewater discharge into the Yamuna. The reduction was attributed to the intervention of a high-level committee headed by Saxena. Challenging the L-G’s claims, Bhardwaj demanded evidence of any new projects or initiatives initiated by Saxena before taking credit for the government’s work. Bhardwaj emphasised that the progress made in cleaning the Yamuna was a direct result of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s six-point action plan, announced in November 2021.

Furthermore, Bhardwaj refuted the L-G’s office claims, highlighting that the L-G does not possess the financial authority to approve projects within the DJB or the Irrigation and Flood Control Department (IFC). He accused the L-G’s office of presenting false minutes of meetings and misleadingly claiming them as the sole achievements of the L-G. He also took the opportunity to underscore the achievements of the DJB, including the successful connection of jhuggi-jhopri clusters to the sewer network, efficient tapping and diversion of drains, desilting of trunk sewers, provision of house service connections, and upgrades to sewage treatment plants.