Delhi LG orders FIR in alleged embezzlement of ₹20 cr in Jal Board

Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Saturday issued directions to chief secretary Naresh Kumar to lodge a first information report (FIR) against Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials for alleged embezzlement of ₹20 crore and submit an action taken report within 15 days, said officials privy to the development.

The development comes in the middle of an ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Delhi government and the lieutenant governor.

According to officials privy to the development, cash amounting to over Rs. 20 crore was collected from 2012 onwards as water bills from individuals and it went to a private bank account rather than DJB’s bank account for several years.

LG also directed Kumar to identify the DJB officials involved in the alleged siphoning of funds. An action taken report needs to be submitted within next 15 days, said officials from the LG house.

The ruling AAP on the other hand has said that it welcomes the probe and the recommendation of such an inquiry was first made by current DJB chairman Manish Sisodia when the matter was brought to his notice by the board officials.

An LG house official said that the water utility had appointed Corporation Bank to collect water bills on its behalf through an order in June 2012 for three years and the contract was renewed further in 2016, 2017 and even in 2019, after the fraud was detected. The bank, in turn, in total violation of the terms of contract and in the knowledge DJB officials, engaged a private agency for collection of cash and cheques and for deposition of the same in DJB’s bank account,” the official added.

The officials from LG house alleged that the “grave irregularities” regarding delayed/non-deposition of cash by the bank were noticed at the time of extending the contract of the bank beyond October 10, 2019 when chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was the chairman of DJB. “Despite knowing all this, the board further extended the contract till 2020,” an official said.

“Rather than making the erring vendors pay the swindled ₹20 crore and punishing them, DJB not only extended their contract, but also increased their service fee from ₹5 to ₹6 per bill,” the official alleged, adding that DJB officials also relaxed the norm that made it mandatory for the vendor to deposit the cash collected from the people in the account of DJB bank account within 24 hours of collection. The official from LG house said that the LG has taken a serious note of the fact that despite the fraud coming to light, DJB not only did not make any effort to recover the cash and punish the guilty, but convolutedly extended the contract of the embezzlers by another year, thereby establishing prima facie connivance.

AAP chief spokesperson and DJB vice-chairman Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the matter pertains to the period from 2012 in which allegation has been made about connivance of a central bank officials and DJB officials. “We welcome all such investigations. Jal board’s chief executive officer had informed deputy chief minster and DJB chairperson Manish Sisodia about this matter and he had made this recommendation of an investigation. We have no problems and strict action should be taken on the bank officials well as DJB officials if they are found guilty. We welcome the investigation,” he added.

Responding to the mention of Arvind Kejriwal being DJB chairman in the allegations, the DJB vice-chairman said that there was another chairman of a body during whose tenure many irregularities occurred and not even investigation has been ordered in that case. AAP has earlier made corruption allegations against LG Saxena during his tenure as chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission. Saxena has filed a suit against the Aam Aadmi Party and five of its senior leaders for accusing him of corruption.

“This DJB billing arrangement was from 2012 onwards and whoever is found guilty should be strictly dealt with and this recommendation was made by current DJB chairman Manish Sisodia,” Bharadwaj added.

The LG has opened multiple cases of corruption related allegations and probes against AAP led Delhi government functionaries over the last few months. On July 22, Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the alleged violations of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 and “deliberate and gross procedural lapses” made by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

He also directed the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) to probe the alleged corruption and collusion of transport department officials at the Burari Transport Authority on July 29. He has sought a report from the Vigilance Department’s delay in acting on the CVC inquiry report into the construction of additional classrooms in Delhi government schools. Saxena has also flagged an alleged delay in audit of accounts of universities under the Delhi government among a series of such cases.