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In letter to L-G, Delhi minister claims authorities conspired to flood sensitive areas

Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Delhi Water Minister, wrote to Lt Governor V K Saxena on Saturday to raise his concerns about how the recent flooding in Delhi was handled and to accuse top officials of willfully disobeying ministers’ urgent calls and messages during the crisis.

Senior authorities, such as Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, voiced displeasure over elected officials singling out the police who have been ‘tirelessly’ working to control the flood situation in the city.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: ‘People of Delhi are suffering due to the ordinance’ amid disputes amongst ministers and staff over their actions and judgement throughout the crisis.

The Lt Governor is authorised by the Constitution to handle some problems relating to land, law and order, and police, while the Delhi government is authorised to handle others.

The services department was recently ordered to be under the jurisdiction of the Delhi government by the Supreme Court, however the Lt. Governor of the national capital was later given control of the bureaucracy in the capital by an ordinance issued by the Centre.

The Supreme Court, Rajghat, and ITO were all flooded on July 13 as a result of a malfunctioning flow regulator at Drain No. 12, according to Bharadwaj’s letter to Saxena.

He alleged that the authorities decided to only use the resources of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department in spite of his and fellow minister Atishi’s efforts to enlist the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) or the engineering wing of the army for assistance.

Bharadwaj asserted that this choice caused the water levels to rise alarmingly and postponed the essential repairs.

The minister claimed that Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar ignored their messages on the WhatsApp group for flood control and remained mute.

The conduct of officials, according to Bharadwaj, were not just careless but also seemed to be part of a ‘deliberate conspiracy to flood sensitive areas of Lutyens’ Delhi and embarrass the Supreme Court.’

He demanded harsh punishment for the alleged “criminal conspiracy against the people of Delhi” by the Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, and Secretary Ashish Kundra. He also emphasised the importance of holding the officials responsible for their actions during the natural disaster and their failure to act promptly upon the ministers’ instructions.

The divisional commissioner stated that elected representatives shouldn’t make unfounded accusations against cops during a press conference earlier in the day. Such regrettable remarks divert them, he said.

‘We should know which department does what, otherwise how can we get the work done,’ Ashwani Kumar remarked in response to the minister’s request to bring in the NDRF to reform the regulator.

 

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