Delhi Water Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday wrote to Lt Governor V K Saxena expressing concern over the handling of the recent flooding in Delhi and accusing senior officials of deliberately ignoring the urgent calls and messages sent by ministers during the crisis.
Senior officials, including Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, expressed disappointment over elected representatives targeting officers who have been working "tirelessly" to bring the flood situation in the city under control.
With ministers and officials clashing over their response and decision-making during the crisis, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted: "People of Delhi are suffering due to the ordinance."
According to the Constitution, matters related to land, law and order, and police fall under the jurisdiction of the Lt Governor, while others come under the purview of the Delhi government.
The Supreme Court recently issued an order placing the services department under the Delhi government, but the Centre later issued an ordinance granting the Lt Governor control over the bureaucracy in the national capital.
In his letter to Saxena, Bharadwaj highlighted an incident on July 13, where a broken flow regulator at Drain no. 12 led to flooding in central parts of the capital, including the Supreme Court, Rajghat, and ITO.
He claimed that despite his and fellow minister Atishi's pleas to call in the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) or the engineering wing of the army for assistance, the officials chose to rely solely on the resources of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
Bharadwaj claimed that this decision delayed the necessary repairs and resulted in water levels rising at an alarming rate.
The minister alleged that Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar remained silent and did not respond to the ministers' messages on the WhatsApp group dedicated to flood control.
Bharadwaj criticised the behaviour of officials, saying their actions were not merely negligent but appeared to be a "deliberate conspiracy to flood sensitive areas of Lutyens' Delhi and embarrass the Supreme Court".
He called for strict action against Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar, and Secretary Ashish Kundra for their alleged "criminal conspiracy against the people of Delhi" and emphasised the need to hold the officials accountable for their actions during the natural calamity and their failure to follow the ministers' directions in a timely manner.
At a press conference held earlier in the day, the divisional commissioner said that elected representatives should not level baseless allegations against officers. "Such unfortunate comments distract them," he said.
On the minister's request to call in the NDRF to fix the regulator, Ashwani Kumar said: "We should know which department does what, else how can we get the work done."
On Saturday, Delhi Revenue Minister Atishi wrote to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar and raised concern over the absence of basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets in relief camps.
In her letter, she also alleged that the divisional commissioner did not respond to her calls.
Ashwani Kumar, however, said he had been attending Atishi's calls. Terming her behaviour "unfortunate", he suggested that her actions were politically motivated.
The water level in the Yamuna in Delhi is showing a receding trend and heavy rainfall is not expected in the city or the higher reaches anytime soon. The situation in the national capital's flooded areas is also improving, a senior official said.
-With PTI Input
