The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government on Thursday filed a fresh affidavit before the Supreme Court saying it “cannot” take action against tanker mafias as they are operating on the “Haryana side of the Yamuna River.”
“Haryana should explain why action not taken,” the Delhi government said in the affidavit shifting the responsibility.
Meanwhile, as Delhi continues to reel under a severe water crisis, city police patrolling has begun around Munak Canal (Bawana Nahar) to keep a check on the tanker mafias, who are reportedly active in the area.
SC Pulls Delhi Govt Over Minance Of Tanker Mafias
This comes a day after the Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the AAP government over the role of tanker mafias in the water crisis in the national capital.
People in Delhi are suffering due to water scarcity, the Supreme Court observed, as it pulled up the AAP government over water wastage and tanker mafias and sought to know what steps it has taken to ease the recurring problem.
The court told the Delhi government it will ask the city police to take action against the tanker mafia if it can’t deal with them.
If the same water can be transported using tankers, why can’t it be supplied through the pipeline, a disquieted court said.
“There are visuals on every channel that the tanker mafia is working in Delhi. What measures have you taken in this regard?… What measures have you taken to control water waste coming through the two barrages if this is a recurring problem? Please show us what action or FIR have you lodged against tanker mafias,” the bench observed orally.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by the Delhi government seeking a direction to Haryana to release the surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh to the national capital to mitigate its water woes.
Blame Game Over Water Crisis
AAP’s Allegation
After the Supreme Court’s observations, the blame game over the issue intensified with Delhi minister Atishi alleging that senior officials colluded with the mafias to reduce the number of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tankers and demanding an inquiry into it.
In a letter to Lt Governor VK Saxena, Atishi demanded an inquiry into the alleged collusion of senior officers with the tanker mafias and requested him to deploy an ACP-level police officer to patrol the stretch of Munak Canal in Delhi to ensure that no illegal water-filling activity takes place there.
“There is a need for an enquiry into the potential collusion by senior officers in the Delhi government with the tanker mafia because it seems that there has been a deliberate and substantial reduction of the tankers deployed by the Delhi Jal Board in the last one year,” she claimed.
Atishi said that in January last year, 1,179 tankers were deployed by the Delhi Jal Board and this number was 1,203 in June the same year.
“However, this number was reduced to 888 in January 2024 without any approval from me. In fact, without any consultation with me. I repeatedly kept flagging the issue of grievances regarding water tanker shortage and asking the CEO DJB to increase the number of tankers, but he did not do so,” she alleged.
With the impact of the prevailing heat wave aggravated further by the water supply crisis, Atishi directed the quick response teams comprising additional district magistrates and sub-divisional magistrates to inspect major pipelines to prevent any leakages there.
The minister said that she directed the chief secretary on March 14, April 3 and April 12 to increase the number of water tankers as in previous years, but he did not do so.
“This reduction of water tankers deployed by the DJB is what has led to the possible proliferation of private tanker mafia, who are illegally selling water…If the senior officers of the Delhi government have not increased the number of water tankers deployed in the DJB despite the instructions of the minister in-charge, there is a serious concern regarding their collusion with the tanker mafia,” she alleged.
Governor’s Intervention
The Lieutenant Governor Secretariat, meanwhile, wrote to the Delhi Police Commissioner, asking him to take action against the tanker mafia indulging in the theft of water from the Munak canal that carries water from Haryana.
The Raj Niwas officials, however, said the DJB that comes under the AAP government never cared to file a complaint with Delhi Police about the tanker mafia.
“The Delhi Jal Board under the AAP never thought it proper to even complaint to the police about the same, leave apart filing an FIR, that would have automatically ensured police action,” said a Raj Niwas official.
“They even never came to the LG asking for action to be taken,” the official added.
BJP’s Attack
Delhi BJP attacked the AAP government, with its president Virendra Sachdeva along with other party leaders submitting a complaint to the police commissioner for registration of an FIR and a probe into the water theft by the tanker mafia and possible connivance of officials in it.
Sachdeva also alleged collusion of AAP MLAs with the tanker mafia.
He alleged water tanker racket was being run by AAP leaders and people close to them. Still, they were “misleading” the people who were facing problems and struggling for water, he said.
The BJP leader also appealed to Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena to pay a visit to the areas experiencing severe water shortages to get a first-hand account of the “chaotic” situation.
BJP also mobilised residents — particularly women — to stage a ‘Matka Phod’ (break pots) protest on Tuesday to vent their anger and desperation against the city government.
The demonstration was led by newly-elected South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and former MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar. Blaming the AAP government for the water crisis and chaos in several parts of Delhi, they demanded the resignations of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Water Minister Atishi Marlena.