Delhi water crisis: AAP Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj blames Haryana for drastically reducing water supply to Delhi

Delhi water crisis: In a recent video shared by ANI, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has accused Haryana's BJP government of continuously lying and deliberately reducing the water supply to Delhi. Bharadwaj claims that following AAP leader Atishi's protest, Haryana has further cut water supply by 17 million gallons per day, totalling a reduction of 117 MGD. He emphasized that this has left 85,000 Delhi residents without water in the last three days, calling the situation “very unfortunate.”

Bharadwaj said, " Haryana's BJP govt is lying continuously, They are reducing water...After Atishi sat for protest, Haryana reduced at least 17 MGD (million gallons per day) more water...so now Haryana is giving 117 MGD less water...Haryana has stopped water for 85,000 people in the last 3 days. This is very unfortunate..."

Bharadwaj has sharply criticized Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena for blaming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for the city's water crisis. In a statement, Bharadwaj asserted that the real issue lies with the BJP-ruled Haryana government, which he claims has blocked 100 million gallons per day (MGD) of water to Delhi.

Bharadwaj accused Saxena of functioning like a "BJP L-G" rather than serving as the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. He pointed out that while Saxena emphasizes the need for consistent governance through consensus-building, he fails to hold Haryana accountable for the significant reduction in Delhi's water supply.

"We are unable to understand why the L-G does not hold the BJP-led Haryana government to the same yardstick despite being fully aware that the Haryana government has been blocking over 100 MGD of Delhi's rightful share of water for the past many days," Bharadwaj said.

The Delhi urban development minister argued that Saxena's approach of blaming the AAP government while ignoring Haryana's role shows bias. He claimed that Saxena is "turning a blind eye" to the facts of the falling water supply from Haryana and disregarding the Kejriwal government's efforts to modernize Delhi's water distribution network.

Delhi relies on Uttar Pradesh and Haryana for its drinking water supply. According to Bharadwaj, data from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) indicated that the city was producing its full share of 1,005 MGD of water until June 6. However, since then, the supply has steadily declined, reaching 888 MGD by June 22.

"There was no water crisis in Delhi until June 6. However, the water supply to Delhi continuously started falling after June 6, reaching 958 MGD on June 10 and an all-time low of 888 MGD on June 22," Bharadwaj said. He emphasized that there has been no reduction in water supplied by Uttar Pradesh, attributing the entire shortfall to Haryana's actions.

Bharadwaj highlighted that this reduction is unprecedented in Delhi's history. He expressed frustration that Saxena did not acknowledge these facts in his statements. Furthermore, Bharadwaj emphasized the Kejriwal government's significant efforts to modernize the water distribution system and reduce water losses over the past nine years.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has invested approximately ₹500 crore in constructing a Carried Lined Channel to minimize water loss during transmission from Haryana to Delhi, reducing losses from 30 percent to five percent. Additionally, the DJB has replaced 3,500 km of old pipelines and laid 7,300 km of new pipelines over the past decade to combat illegal tapping and water theft.

Bharadwaj also mentioned the strengthening of the Leak Detection Cell, which has detected and fixed around 2,000 leakages in the past six months. He criticized Saxena for blaming the current crisis on issues like leakage and tanker mafia without acknowledging that these problems existed even before June 6, when there was no water crisis.

"For the last two weeks, teams of Delhi Police, which report to the L-G, have constantly been patrolling water pipelines of DJB," Bharadwaj added, questioning why the crisis only emerged recently if leakage and tanker mafia were to blame.