BJP seeks special Assembly session to discuss water crisis

New Delhi, June 8

The BJP on Saturday demanded that the Delhi Assembly Speaker call a special session of the House to discuss the prevailing water crisis in the city that it blamed on the AAP government’s “mismanagement”.

Sachdeva challenges Atishi to open debate

New Delhi: Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva has challenged Water Minister Atishi to an open debate with the Haryana Government and Delhi BJP, or to convene an all-party meeting to address the water supply issues from Haryana. He criticised the Kejriwal government on Saturday for its “negligent attitude”, holding it solely responsible for the current water crisis plaguing the Capital. TNS

BJP Chief Whip in the Delhi Assembly Ajay Mahawar, in a letter to Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, said the whole of Delhi is struggling with a water shortage amid unprecedented heat.

“It is requested of you to immediately call a special session of the Delhi Assembly to discuss and find a solution to this crisis and provide relief to the people from this disaster caused by the mismanagement of the Delhi Government and the Delhi Jal Board,” Mahawar said in his letter.

He claimed that some special sessions were held in the past to discuss “unnecessary” issues while pressing for calling a special session on the water shortage.

BJP Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva also demanded that the Speaker call a special session of the Assembly on the problems faced by people due to the water shortage.

Newly elected MP from South Delhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri criticised the AAP for what he claims is a continued pattern of misinformation and incompetence regarding water issues in Delhi. Despite a significant defeat in the recent Lok Sabha elections, AAP leaders have not improved their approach or credibility, he said.

Bidhuri accused Water Minister Atishi of falsely claiming that Haryana was not releasing Delhi’s share of water. “Atishi is continuously lying that Haryana is not providing Delhi with its share of water, while the Haryana Government has proven in the Supreme Court that it consistently supplies water to Delhi as per the agreement,” Bidhuri said. He added, “The Supreme Court dismissed the Delhi Government’s demand to instruct Haryana to provide additional water. Atishi knows that it takes at least 48 hours for the water to reach Delhi from Himachal Pradesh but she started creating a fuss within 12 hours of the top court’s order, claiming that the water released from the hill state had not reached the Capital and that Haryana had stopped the water.”

Atishi falsely accused Haryana of not releasing water based on the Yamuna’s level as on June 2. The SC decision came on June 6 and the water is expected to reach Delhi by June 8, he said.

He also pointed out the AAP government’s inability to treat additional water from Himachal Pradesh due to the lack of new water treatment plants in the last decade. “Delhi’s water treatment capacity remains limited to 900 MGD, and all plants are operating at full capacity.

The silt cleaning of these plants has not been done for the past 10 years, leading to further supply issues. Even if Himachal’s water reaches Delhi, it will be of no benefit because the Delhi Government has not arranged for its treatment,” he said.

Bidhuri likened the current water crisis to the Covid-19 pandemic, where he claimed that the AAP government falsely accused the Centre of not supplying oxygen. “The reality is that the Delhi Government had not arranged for tankers to transport oxygen,” he said.

“For the past several days, Atishi has been falsely accusing the Haryana Government of not providing Delhi its share of water based on the Yamuna’s level,” Bidhuri said.

She knows that the Haryana Government has an agreement under the Yamuna Accord to release a certain amount of water, not to maintain the water level of the Yamuna, but Atishi has never mentioned how much less water is being released while always referring to the Yamuna’s water level, he added.

Bidhuri said the AAP’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections indicates a loss of public trust. “Despite losing the trust of the people, the AAP government is worsening its position by making baseless allegations and behaving erratically,” he said.