CM orders CAG audit of DJB amid BJP allegations

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has ordered the audit of the Delhi Jal Board accounts since 2008 by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) amid allegations of misappropriation of funds by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), the government announced on Wednesday.

- Alok KN Mishra

Besides the tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government since 2015, the audit will also cover the duration when Delhi was governed by the Congress.

"We have ordered a CAG audit of the last 15 years of records of the Delhi Jal Board. 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 levelled baseless allegations will get to know," Kejriwal said while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Delhi assembly.

The chief minster also said that there could be a "water and sewage crisis" in the Capital in the coming days since funds have not been released to the water utility --- an allegation that was levelled by water minister Atishi in November 21. However, the jal board had then clarified that there was water supply crisis in the Capital.

"In many places, sewers are overflowing and there is problem of maintenance as well. The second instalment of grant in aid to the DJB is not released by them (finance department). The situation is not good. If the bureaucracy is not accountable to the elected government it will become impossible to run the government," Kejriwal said.