Hello Dilli,
I hope that you guys are enjoying the cheaper power and the power cuts for 2 to 6 hours a day. Kudos to you for seeing the change in politics by bearing all the pain for two summers tight-lipped. But there is more to come, and I am sure you will have the power and courage to see them through as well.
Ultimately, what matters is an ‘Honest Government’ after all. So what if there are some additional difficulties, pains, and tortures to the ‘Aam Aadmi?’
Earlier, in DESU days, the power failures, power cuts, and arbitrary billings were routine in Delhi, and you would know it better that Sheila Dixit made them a thing of past. Then ‘Honesty‘ happened to Delhi. Before the elections, His Honesty showed some 380 pages report and promised to send Sheila Dixit to jail. Somehow, that report seems to have got lost somewhere.
20 May 2013: “Delhi’s water being stolen by water tanker mafia. Both parties (Congress and BJP) have interest in Delhi’s illicit water business.” – His Honesty.
28 July 2015: Four months in the Government , the AAP Government, that runs and ruins the Delhi Jal Board while the water Mafia settles with the new dispensation. Black marketing of water scales to a new high.
There was “tanker-corruption” earlier, but at least the regularized colonies of Delhi used to get water in summers. But the Honest Government. exceeded all limits. The water situation in Delhi has gone from bad to worse. But Honesty demands a price to be paid, and Delhi friends are paying by living without water for a few weeks. Kudos!
Hilariously, while on one side, the Supreme Court slammed the Honest Government over acute water crisis saying that the water mafia was ruling Delhi for every drop, our National Chief Minister was advertising to send water to Latur, Maharashtra. Can’t believe? Watch HERE.
Those who wish to know more about the detailed nexus of the ‘Water Tanker Scam,’ may refer to this Detailed Report to know what.
But like the famous #OddEven, at least His Honesty is doing something. Let us see, what?
When the AAP Government came to power, in June 2015, they constituted a ‘Fact-finding Committee‘ to probe the irregularities in hiring some 385 stainless steel water tankers by the Delhi Jal Board in 2012, during Sheila Dikshit’s rule. The five-member committee was formed by Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra.
The report, submitted to His Honesty Shri Kejriwal in August 2015, indicted former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit of causing a loss of Rs 400 crore to the national exchequer in the process of awarding tenders for hiring water tankers. The documents showed murky details in the water tanker contracts and recommended a FIR against Congress leader Dikshit by the CBI and the ACB.
However, the ‘Honest AAP Government ‘ sat on the report for one full year. When news reports suggested that Sheila Dikshit could be Congress party’s poll in-charge in Punjab or its chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh, AAP Government sent the report to the Prime Minister (only Kejriwal Sir or the God knows why) and Delhi’s lieutenant governor.
Next was a series of tweets and TV bytes in which Delhi’s water minister suggested: “the former Delhi chief minister should be behind bars.” They also claimed that the BJP was not keen to punish the guilty. Now you know, why the report was sent to the Prime Minister.
Reacting to the fact-finding report, BJP MLA, Vijendra Gupta said, “It is highly suspicious that why Arvind Kejriwal sat on the files for almost a year. We suspect some secret understanding between Sheila Dikshit and Kejriwal.”
The LG Najeeb Jung also forwarded the complaint filed with him by BJP leader Vijender Gupta to the ACB accusing Shri Kejriwal of “suppressing” the committee’s report into the tanker scam for 11 months. ACB filed an FIR on Delhi CM also along with former CM Sheila Dixit.
This is exactly what was His Honesty waiting for. He cried foul on top of the voice and blamed Mr. Modi. How Cute!!
Naturally, Sheila Dikshit questioned the timing of the probe saying, “The allegations are politically motivated. The AAP Government is raising the issue for their political interests. I would like to ask Delhi Chief Minister if he was so interested in weeding out corruption then why he was quiet for a year? He should have immediately terminated the contracts. Who stopped him from doing so? It was not my decision to procure the water tankers. It was a collective decision by a board comprising DJB CEO, engineers, municipal councilors and experts.”
While this blame-game tamasha is on, Delhi continues to suffer. AAP followers are consistently fed by the crooks who are hand in glove with these Mafias to keep them confused. Let them be informed that the MCD (under BJP) is only responsible for solid waste; the responsibility to manage drainage and sewerage belongs Delhi Jal Board, under the chairmanship of Kapil Mishra Sir of AAP.
Did you notice how just half an hour of rain brought Delhi to a complete halt? Will His Honesty tell us, which Modi, which LG, which MCD is stopping him from running the DJB and PWD efficiently and why has it utterly failed?
You can live in a fancy sounding location in Delhi, but cannot prevent stinking sewage water seeping into your water supply. Imagine the plight! An epidemic is in the waiting. I hope before it reaches to that stage, better sense prevails. While the Dengue and the Chikungunya have reached almost on an epidemic scale, sewage flows out of the taps in Delhi, and His Honesty is busy abusing the center, eyeing other state elections at the cost of poor Delhi residents. A second reminder, Delhi Jal Board and Health Dept, both come under the AAP run Delhi Government, NOT not under Municipality.
This is the crux! You MUST verify yourself, who is “the authority responsible for planning, designing, and execution of water supply and wastewater management facilities within its jurisdiction in the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Check Here!
Finally, on public pressure, the Dwarka MLA, Adarsh Sashtri confesses that the DJB has made Delhiites’ life hell. The bigger news is that he has not yet been sacked by His Honesty.
I do understand, what were people thinking while voting for AAP and my sympathies for them. One is, of course, free to choose between ‘cheap’ and ‘reliable’ power! But when some of them tell the solid logic behind their choices, I feel like crying for them.
Can someone tell me how one can agree to pay Rs 15/unit for diesel generator power (generating fumes on both odd and even days) during the time of power cut, instead of a much lesser rate even without subsidies, all this in the lure of cheaper power? Here is one of such species of humans, and trust me, she is not the only.
Then comes mood swings. Slow realization perhaps.
And now finally, for those who are under the impression that, Delhi Domestic Electricity Tariff is a gift from Almighty, here is a quick comparative reference [rate before subsidy]. For complete Tariff details, check here: Domestic Electricity LT Tariff Slabs and Rates for all states in India in 2016. So, if Mr. A’s average consumption is 800 Units, and Mr. B’s average consumption is 2000 units, their electricity bills (calculated in the second table) in the three states would be:
Now look at the above numbers and also the never ending rant below and decide for self, ‘कौन हैं जो बिजली कंपनियों से मिले हुए हैं?’ (who after all is hand in glove with the Electricity supply companies?).
Sometimes I laugh and cry at the same time. While I laugh at the irony of the situation, I cry because I laughed too much. The irony of the situation is, that while His Honesty is coughing and faffing on odd-even days, people in Delhi are crying for BASICS every day!
Credit: I thank Prakash Sharma for his insight that he shared through his tweets on the subject. He tweets at @India_Policy
