On 12th July, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to intervene as Yamuna river water rose close to a dangerous level. In his letter, he blamed the Haryana government for the rising water in Yamuna as “it had not rained in Delhi for three days”.
Interestingly, just two days ago, on 10th July, CM Kejriwal had urged all political parties not to play the ‘blame game’ and work together as a flood-like situation occurred across North Indian states. It is unclear if Delhi CM contacted his counterpart Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar or Delhi LG Vinai Kumar Saxena in the matter before writing to HM Shah.
My letter to Union Home Minister on Yamuna flood levels… pic.twitter.com/dqDMLWuIfe
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 12, 2023
In his letter, CM wrote, “Yamuna’s water level reached 207.55 meters at 1 PM today. It touched 207.49 meters last time in 1978. Delhi was flooded at that time, and the situation was very serious. At 207.55 meters, Delhi can get flooded any moment now.
As per Central Water Commission, Yamuna’s water level will rise to 207.72 meters tonight, which is very concerning.
Delhi has not received any rain in the last three days. The water level of Yamuna is not rising because of rains in Delhi, but it is increasing as Haryana is releasing water from Hathnikund Bariraj. I humbly request that you issue directions to release water from Hathnikund in a limited manner so that the water level in Delhi does not increase further.
Delhi is India’s capital. In a few weeks, a G-20 meeting will be held in the city. The flood-like situation in Delhi will not send a good message to the world. We should come together to save Delhi.“
Earlier, Delhi Jal Board chairman and Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused Delhi LG of taking credit for desilting the drains and claimed now LG was giving lack of desilting as the reason for waterlogging in Delhi. Notably, Delhi received over 150mm of rain in less than 48 hours, resulting in waterlogging across the city. He also blamed Haryana for releasing excessive water that raised Yamuna level.
AAP has a history of blaming central agencies and other states for its mismanagement
This is not the first time the AAP-led Delhi government has accused the central agencies and other states of mismanagement in the national capital. During Covid, CM Kejriwal accused the central government of not providing enough oxygen to Delhi Hospital. Later, his claims were debunked by the data on medical oxygen distribution. In reality, it was AAP’s mismanagement in Delhi that led to the shortage of oxygen in the hospital. Our detailed report on how the AAP-led Delhi government did not make proper arrangements for oxygen distribution can be read here.
AAP ministers have accused Haryana and Punjab (before AAP came to power in Punjab) of not controlling stubble burning during the winter season, leading to high pollution levels in the national capital. The Haryana government has done exceptional work in that area, unlike Punjab, where stubble-burning incidents rose by over 20 per cent under the AAP government.
