Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s move to clear a scheme to sell water to poor people living in unauthorised colonies at Rs5 per 20 litres has evoked criticism.
Slamming the move, leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta on Monday said a Government which claims to sell water free of charge up to 20,000 litres has taken a U-turn and will now sell water at such high rate to weaker sections of society.
“Not only this, in the process of providing water, it will give benefit of Rs500 crores to a private firm selected against the financial rules. The contract has been awarded to a single firm which participated in tendering procedure. As per rule, there should be at least three competitors for tendering procedure to be complete and fair. But in violation of the rules, the Rs500 crores contract has been awarded to a single firm,” said Gupta.
Gupta urged lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to initiate a CBI enquiry into the matter and said he along with other BJP MlAs OP Sharma and Jagdish Pradhan will meet senior police officers to ask them to register FIR and initiate enquiry into the matter.
The Delhi Government had announced providing 20,000 liters of free water to Delhiites. But now it has decided to sell water through ATM like vending machines at Rs5 per 20 litres. The contract has been awarded to a private firm named M/s Water Health India Pvt. limited without any competition.
Supply of water through installation of water booths was initiated earlier by Congress ruled Delhi Government under Shiela Dikshit in 2012. The firm selected at that time was to install its own tubewells and extract raw water and sell at Rs3 per 20 litre after processing and packaging. But the contractor under the AAP Government has been entrusted with selling water at 66 per cent higher rates as compared to the earlier regime. The present Government is so kind to M/s Water Health India Pvt. ltd. that it has given land, Govt. tubewells and other facilities to it for installation of RO water vending machines and obtaining raw water.
Residents of the unauthorised colonies where water is to be distributed will have to buy token on the pattern Mother Dairy. Gupta said that Delhi Jal Board sells water @ 10 paisa per 20 liters. An amount of Rs5 is payable for 1,000 litres.