The Hindu : New Delhi News : Sheila offers to quit if graft proved

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Wednesday, Sep 19, 2007
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New Delhi

Sheila offers to quit if graft proved

Staff Reporter

Claims water situation has improved considerably due to reduction in wastage

‘Water production up from 580 to 780 MGD’
‘10,000 km of new pipes laid during my tenure’

NEW DELHI: Describing allegations of corruption and inefficiency against the Delhi Government as hollow and unsubstantiated, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Tuesday offered to step down if the charges are proved right.

She also declared that while the complaints have gone down by 55 per cent in comparison to 2005, water distribution and supply have also considerably improved leading to a high level of satisfaction.

Speaking during a short duration discussion in the Delhi Assembly, Ms. Dikshit said “things are improving” as the water production has increased from 580 million gallons per day to 780 MGD. Though this was still short of the demand of 950 MGD, she said, reduction in wastage -- that has been brought down from 60 per cent nine years ago to about 35 per cent now -- has considerably improved matters.

“The Opposition alleges that there is no water. But had this been true, people would have been agitating extensively,” the Chief Minister said.

Stating that water was being provided to nearly 1.6 crore people, she said of the total water supply only about 10 per cent was underground water that was primarily being provided to jhuggi clusters and unauthorised colonies.

As for the Delhi Jal Board, she said, it had laid 10,000 km of new pipes during her tenure as a result of which now over 60 per cent people were completely satisfied with the water supply. Instead of one hour earlier, water was now being supplied for four hours in several areas, she added.

Noting that the process of privatisation of water had not been initiated as was being alleged by the BJP, the Chief Minister said “as far as allegations of corruption go, they have been found to be false”.

She said while the CBI was yet to submit its report in one of the cases pertaining to the Jal Board CEO, the enquiry in an alleged case of rape was also under way.

The Chief Minister said the water supply would improve further as the number of underground reservoirs goes up from 22 at present to 58 by March 2009. She said 10,000 hectares on the river banks was lying unused and accused the Opposition of playing politics over the issue of Commonwealth Games Village on the river banks. “What was the BJP doing when the Akshardham Temple was constructed? The Games Village is being built after all the necessary clearances have been obtained,” she reasoned.

Earlier, initiating the discussion, Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan had charged that there was heavy corruption in the Jal Board, which was chaired by Ms. Dikshit, and that the CBI had found that it had entered into a Rs. 35-crore contract for a Rs. 3-crore job.

He also claimed that the Delhi Government had made attempts to privatise water and had adopted double standards on the Yamuna by displacing people living on the banks and on the other hand encouraging commercialisation thereon.

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