In a disagreement over the difficulty of one-time settlement of inflated water payments, Delhi LG V Ok Saxena in an ‘open letter’ addressed to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday stated AAP dispensation’s allegations of stalling the proposed scheme have been “white lies”.
The Delhi chief minister in addition to AAP authorities ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj had accused the LG and the BJP of stalling the scheme via the officers involved.
Kejriwal, in reply to the LG, wrote again an ‘open letter’ to him, saying he was “deeply pained by the language” of his letter. Kejriwal stated, “No matter our variations, political backgrounds, nevertheless numerous our views; this type of offensive language will not be acceptable from one constitutional functionary to a different.”
Not a single piece of paper on the scheme was introduced to note of the LG, formally or unofficially, Saxena claimed in his letter.
Water, finance, city improvement, all these departments involved with the scheme, being transferred topics, are completely underneath the chief minister’s management and the LG has no function by any means, Saxena wrote to Kejriwal.
The Raj Niwas posted the ‘open letter’ by the LG on the X saying, “The LG writes open letter to CM Kejriwal; says Water, Finance, UD Departments completely underneath your management, I’ve nothing to do with it. Take selections, don’t blame others. Profit all 27 lakh customers, why solely 10 lakh? Return the payments paid by 17 lakh trustworthy customers with curiosity.” The 17 lakh customers paid Rs 13,186 crore to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) as water payments since 2012, Saxena stated asking the chief minister to return the quantity to them with curiosity.
The LG additionally objected to a decision handed by the Delhi Meeting on February 19 that the BJP workouts “direct management” over him. “That is fully unacceptable and irresponsible assertion which doesn’t behove of the members who endorsed it,” Saxena said.
He charged {that a} “false narrative” was being peddled by the chief minister and his ministers that the scheme was stalled by him. “Your statements are white lies, once more an instance of typical ‘abuse and scoot sport’ which you appear to have mastered and made a profession out of it,” retorted the LG to fees on him.
The LG claimed that no choice was taken by the Delhi authorities concerning the one-time settlement ‘scheme’, and charged that the “inefficiency and failures of the chief minister and his authorities have been being intentionally placed on him and the Centre to divert public consideration”. He stated the scheme was authorised by the DJB on January 13, 2023 and was despatched for feedback of the finance division on January 25, 2024, after a spot of 1 12 months.
The minister involved despatched the file to the chief secretary as late as February 21, 2024, clearly indicating that the supposed ‘scheme’ was nonetheless within the means of formulation and was removed from reaching any finality, stated the LG. “One is pressured to surprise as to why the minister stored sitting on the proposed scheme for one 12 months” he stated.
Kejriwal, in his ‘open letter’ to Saxena, hoped they are going to be “capable of keep a cordial and constructive working relationship” within the curiosity of Delhi’s individuals. “I’ve myself mentioned this matter with you greater than as soon as and introduced it to your discover that the officers of the Delhi Jal Board, the City Growth Division and the Finance Division are making a constitutional disaster by not bringing the proposal to the Council of Ministers, regardless of the instructions of the minister incharge,” he stated.
He claimed that LG exercised all powers over officers. “As a consequence, the officers reply to your instructions whether or not given orally or in writing. That is the rationale why I’ve introduced a number of points to your discover, the place issues of public curiosity are being held up by officers, together with this challenge of water payments,” stated Kejriwal.
The Delhi chief minister requested the LG to take an “exemplary motion” towards at the least one officer in order that it sends a message to the executive equipment to fall in line. “Please don’t let the individuals of Delhi down,” he additional wrote in his ‘open letter’.
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
