DJB-Tanker Mafia and Water Shortage

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Tanker mafia- Delhi Jal Board officials nexus drying up South Delhi



It's been five days since Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came good on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) promise of free water to Delhi residents. It's been six days, however, since residents of the upmarket colony of Asiad Village have got a drop of Delhi Jal Board water. Call this the unkindest cut, but AAP's free water world seems to have turned South Delhi's tony neighbourhoods into drier places.

It's not AAP's fault, as a Mail Today investigation has revealed that an unholy nexus between private tanker operators and corrupt Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials is the real reason for the big South Delhi dryup. Asiad Village residents say their water woes have worsened in last five or six days-the AAP era.

"It has never been so bad. We got water after six days," said Ajay Agnihotri, a former Central Board of Excise and Customs commissioner.


When asked if water could have been diverted following the announcement of 20 kilolitres of free water per month to every Delhi household with a functional water meter, Agnihotri used the Latin term 'pari passu', that translates as hand-in-hand. "I thought it was the DJB chaps trying to sabotage the new government. But if I get 700 litres of water free, I would be willing to use way much less, expecting it to be free." AAP and Agnihotri are on the same page. Asked about the Asiad Village situation, AAP media coordinator Deepak Bajpai said, "Wherever we get such complaints, our minister as well as MLAs address the problem. In these areas, DJB officials in collusion with private tankers are artificially creating problem. We are looking into it."

The DJB-tanker nexus is one of Delhi's most persistent urban legends, which has corrupt DJB officials taking a cut from the earnings of the private tanker mafia who make a killing because of a scarcity created by officials of the utility. Considering Delhi's size and the fact that every resident needs water, the nexus cannot but be a big money-churner. It is this powerful nexus that Kejriwal intends to take on.

Struggle

Hemant Mudgal, a consultant with a wellknown accountancy company, said, Â?"There is no water supply in the society. Government officials have managed to hire private tankers and get water but we have to struggle every day. Out of 365 days, we donÂ?ft get a single drop of water from DJB on 160 days.Â?h Private water suppliers are the only option, Mudgal explains, adding that the Asiad Village water scarcity is as bad during the low-demand winter season.

On Thursday, Kejriwal referred to DelhiÂ?fs water troubles, including those in South Delhi. Speaking in Assembly during the trust vote on the fledgling AAP government, Kejriwal said, Â?"We are working towards providing water to every household in Delhi. The respectable member rightly pointed out that still only few are benefiting from subsidy. But even if four or five lakh people are benefiting, it is something. I know there are problems in water supply in Sangam Vihar, R.K. Puram, Kalkaji, Tughlakabad and Rohini, but we are working on it and will soon provide relief to everyone," Kejriwal said.
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'Everyone' may be a far cry when the situation in Asiad Village-the capital's showpiece housing complex where the market rate of a flat is in the stratospheric Rs.10-crore zone, and all dwellings have regular DJB connections-is so bad.

Asiad Village was built during the 1982 Asian Games; it has 853 flats of which 750 house top officials of Public Sector Undertakings, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and other civil servants. Some of these high-ranking government officials manage to get water from the DJB on a per day basis, but the others depend on overpriced water from private tankers.
A DJB official said that almost five water tankers go to the complex six times every day. "We only manage to cater around 30 complaints on a single day. We don't deny there is a water crisis but we can't do anything as senior officials of Public Sector Undertakings, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and other civil servants. Some of these high-ranking government officials manage to get water from the DJB on a per day basis, but the others depend on overpriced water from private tankers.

A DJB official said that almost five water tankers go to the complex six times every day. "We only manage to cater around 30 complaints on a single day. We don't deny there is a water crisis but we can't do anything as senior officials have to take the decisions." Manager of the Asiad Village Residents' Welfare Association S.K. Sinha said that there is not a single day when water tankers are not chugging in and out of the housing complex.

Â?"If people complain to DJB, they are attended to after three days, and that too only after some palms are greased.Â?h It isnÂ?ft just Asiad Village residents who can smell the scam. When There is no definite time of water supply.Even DJB officials do not res-pond to our complaints. It has never been so bad.We got water after six days.

Delhi has India's largest installed capacity of STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants), but none are functioning in terms of quantity or quality of outputs.

Mail Today spoke to residents of other South Delhi colonies, the DJB-tanker mafia angle to new AAP governmentÂ?fs water vow came up tops everywhere. East of Kailash is another Asiad Village scenario. Â?"There is no water supply for last few days. We wait for days to get water and that too at unpredictable times. It seems that people living in these colonies will have to pay for the free water announced by the new government,Â?" said Alok Verma, an East of Kailash resident.
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"The residents of this colony are dependent on private tankers," Verma explained. Â?

"Arvind Kejriwal has announced 667 litres of water free to every Delhi family. He promised, he announced, and people welcomed it. But what about those people living in South Delhi's posh colonies who are struggling for every drop of water?" he added.
Water mafia 'creates' crisis to mint money


The private water tanker mafia in collusion with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials are raking in 'moolah' since the day Delhi went to polls, fearing the scenario would change if the Aam Aadmi Party comes to power. Although the racket was silent for a few months, as they are usually active during summers, but this time, they have left no stone unturned during winters too.

The water mafia created 'artificial water crisis' situation in various posh colonies the day Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced 700 litres of free water per day to each household in the city.

The illegal business is run by people who are particularly targeting areas in the Capital that are let down by the DJB.

People in 'artificially parched' localities now pay anything between Rs.800 and Rs.1,500 for 1,000 litres of water.

Earlier, they used to pay somewhere between Rs.400 to Rs.800. For a 5,000-litre tanker, they shell out around Rs.3,000, and for a 12,000-litre tanker, between Rs.5,000 and Rs.7,000.

Establishments such as hotels and hospitals go for bigger tankers, which have a capacity of 24,000 litres, paying around Rs.10,000. "These prices keep fluctuating. As demand goes up, so do their charges," said Vijay Ojha, a resident of Kalkaji. More than 2,000 private tankers draw water from tubewells and the DJB connection to sell to residential localities and industries at exorbitant rates. Their business is pegged atRs.400 crore annually.

The water mafias have become more active in South, South-West and South-East Delhi. The black marketing of water has been a major problem in the city and was alleged that it was running in collusion with the Congress politicians.

The newly-elected government of AAP has taken a vow to put water mafias behind the bars. "We are working consistently on this and we are sure in coming days we will unearth the entire nexus," Deepak Bajpai, AAP representative, said. more