Kejriwal govt hints at plan to lodge FIR against Dikshit

City’s Water Minister Kapil Mishra on Friday asked Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to order an FIR against former chief minister Sheila Dikshit and others in connection with alleged wrongdoings amounting to Rs 400 crore in hiring water tankers.

Mishra wrote to Kejriwal for ordering an FIR on the basis of the report of a fact finding committee which examined allegations of lapses in the water tanker distribution management system by the Dikshit regime in 2012.

The Congress said the letter written by Mishra to Kejriwal is an attempt to make headlines and the BJP dared the ruling AAP to file FIR against the senior leader of the Congress – a party whose alliance the Delhi Chief Minister is supporting Bihar elections.
Referring to the fact-finding committee’s report, Mishra said, “This report is self-explanatory and exposes how the then DJB chairman and chief minister Sheila Dikshit and other board members have consistently bypassed laws and rules to cause a loss of almost Rs 400 crore to Delhi Jal Board.”

Mishra, who also holds the charge of chairman of Delhi Jal Board, constituted the committee soon after taking charge of the portfolio on June 19. The panel evaluated the process of hiring around 385 stainless steel water tankers from private companies by the Dikshit government in 2012.

The minister wrote to Kejriwal: “I am forwarding this report to you with a request that an FIR should immediately be lodged by Delhi government based on this report against all those involved in this scam.”

He requested that an FIR should be lodged by the Delhi government based on the fact-finding committee’s report against all those involved in this scam.

The minister also claimed that he was risking his cabinet birth and the future of the AAP government by going public on the issue.

“This is a big expose and I am afraid that immediately after this, there will be attempts to destabilise our government in Delhi and also to remove me from this chair,” he said.
The alleged tanker scam was exposed by NGO Citizen’s Front for Water Democracy in a complaint.

The NGO claimed that the tender floated to hire these tankers was scrapped four times within 18 months, and undue favour was done to the two companies which were finally awarded the contract at highly escalated rates.

According to DJB sources, the government proposed to hire 130 steel tankers of three-kl capacity and 255 nine-kl capacity.

The DJB allegedly agreed to pay the private companies Rs 91/km for the three-kl capacity tankers and Rs 121/km for the nine-kl capacity tankers while the water utility’s own tankers incurred a cost of Rs 20/km and Rs 30/km for the 3-kl and 9-kl tankers.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken said the AAP government was trying to create headlines by talking about the issue.

BJP president Satish Upadhyay said the government instead of indulging in publicity gimmicks, should release the Tanker Scam Report and file FIR against Dikshit, other political leaders and officials involved in it.

He said the government should bring a white paper on DJB’s corrupt work during 15 years of Dikshit’s rule.

Upadhyay said it seems the new grand electoral alliance of Bihar between Kejriwal and Congress through Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar is prohibiting the Delhi government from releasing the tanker scam report exposing half a dozen Congress leaders in Delhi.