Kejriwal directs audit of Delhi Jal Board by CAG amid allegations of financial bungling

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said his government has ordered an audit of the Delhi Jal Board's records of the last 15 years by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to ascertain if there have been any irregularities.

The Delhi BJP claimed the Kejriwal government was rattled after the opposition party levelled allegations of irregularities in the DJB and said it would continue to 'expose corruption' by Aam Aadmi Party leaders.

Speaking to reporters, Kejriwal said, 'We have ordered a CAG audit of the last 15 years of records of the Delhi Jal Board. The CAG is a third party and the biggest agency in the country. Things will become clearer now.' 'If someone has committed irregularities, they should be punished. If no irregularities have been committed, then those who level baseless allegations will get to know,' he added.

Kejriwal also flagged the issue of non-release of funds by the finance department, warning that there could be a water and sewage crisis in Delhi in the coming days owing to the A couple of weeks ago, Delhi Water Minister Atishi had claimed the national capital was staring at a 'man-made water crisis' due to the stoppage of funds to the Delhi Jal Board by the Finance Department and demanded Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena's immediate intervention in the matter.

A finance department official, on condition of anonymity, said, 'The file for release of funds was sent to us in October. Before that, they were demanding additional funds but when we asked them for details of projects, nothing was sent to us.

'The file was then sent to us in October. These funds cannot be used for paying contractors. These are for carrying out different projects.' Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that by accepting the demand for CAG Audit of Delhi Jal Board, the chief minister has tried to suppress scams exposed by them.

'BJP will not keep quiet about this and we will continue to expose more scams of the Jal Board. The officers are not refusing to give the funds, they are asking for the account of the money already given which the Kejriwal government does not want to give,' Sachdeva said.

Asked about the fund crisis in the Delhi Jal Board and its possible impact on the ongoing work, the chief minister said, 'If the bureaucracy will not be answerable to the government, it will be impossible to run the government. There could be a water crisis and a sewage crisis due to non-release of funds.' Addressing a press conference on the issue, Atishi said that strict action will be taken if any irregularities are found in the CAG audit of the DJB's records of the last 15 years.

'Questions were raised and it was alleged that there are irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board. I want to remind them that our party has grown out of a movement against corruption. We will initiate strict action if any irregularities are found after the CAG audit,' Atishi told reporters.

'We have removed ministers from their posts when questions were raised against them and now, a CAG audit has been ordered,' she added.

On the alleged delay by the finance department in releasing funds to the DJB, Atishi said that the matter is subjudice and that it happened because of 'officers neglecting directions'.

'Even after giving directions twice to the finance department, funds are not being released. The matter is in the court now,' she said.

Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Somnath Bharti welcomed the government's decision to order an audit.

'There cannot be a better thing than this. This reflects the transparency of the Delhi government... the chief minister himself ordered a CAG audit. This proves the honesty of the AAP government and our leader Arvind Kejriwal.

'This also thwarts the attempt to politicise the Delhi Jal Board. In the DJB, we all have been working hard to serve the people of Delhi but the BJP has been trying to raise issues that have no merit. So now, the CAG audit will make everything clear,' Bharti told PTI.

The BJP and the AAP have been sparring over alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board since last month. The BJP has accused the DJB of running a 'scam' of awarding bogus tenders for the upgradation of its sewage treatment plants.