Today, 8th April, The accountability of DJB (Delhi Jal Board) called into question as the finance secretary of Delhi has informed the Supreme Court about the receipt of over Rs 28,400 crore since the fiscal year 2015-16.
New Delhi: The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) received over Rs 28,400 crore since 2015-16, but it hasn’t used the funds as per the approved conditions, as stated by the Delhi government’s principal finance secretary to the Supreme Court. The court is currently hearing a plea by the AAP government alleging non-disbursal of funds to the water utility.
The senior government official also highlighted a lack of accountability within the statutory body. Recently, the court directed the Principal Secretary (Finance) of the Delhi government to release funds to DJB and included the utility in the plea filed by the AAP government, which oversees providing potable water to Delhi.
In an affidavit submitted before a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Ashish Chandra Verma, the principal secretary of the finance department, thoroughly referenced a March 15 report of the chief secretary regarding “serious problems” related to water supply and sewage line maintenance faced by Delhi residents, to refute the assertions made by the Arvind Kejriwal government.
As highlighted by the CAG in its report,
“Despite receiving more than Rs. 28,400 crores from the public exchequer (i.e., GNCTD) since 2015-16, there is a lack of accountability, and the funds have not been utilized according to sanction conditions.”
The official in his affidavit stated,
“The situation is particularly concerning given the delay in the CAG audit due to the lack of preparation of a balance sheet, which is crucial for assessing DJB’s conduct in this matter,”
The finance secretary sought the dismissal of the plea, labeling it as entirely “untenable, misconceived, and unsupported by facts and law” on various grounds, including its failure to follow due process.
Referring to the chief secretary’s report, the affidavit noted, “Water tariffs (and consequently sewer tariffs, which are calculated at 60% of water tariffs) have remained unchanged since 01.02.2018 (previously revised annually by 10%), and service charges have remained stagnant since 01.01.2015, adversely impacting DJB’s financial health.”
It pointed out that the water utility was missing out on potential revenue of approximately Rs 1,200 crore per annum due to the lack of tariff adjustments solely for domestic bills.
The affidavit stated,
“The number of consumers with dues was approximately 11 lakhs in July 2023, but it had increased to over 14 lakhs by January 2024. This suggests that consumers were intentionally withholding their payments in anticipation of another scheme announcement.”
Regarding DJB’s financial situation, it mentioned,
“The loans and associated interests owed by DJB have now exceeded Rs. 73,000 crores. Despite informing GNCTD that it cannot repay its debts, DJB is not adhering to statutory provisions to ensure financial integrity.”
The affidavit mentioned that the office of the Delhi water minister, who filed the petition, is still awaiting directions based on the report from the chief secretary.
It stated,
“The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has received a total of Rs 76,923.82 Crore from diverse sources. Out of this amount, Rs. 75,313.42 Crore has been expended, leaving a balance of Rs 1610.40 Crore in DJB’s bank accounts. However, due to the absence of balance closing certificates from various banks, the audit was unable to verify the balances as reported by DJB.”
The affidavit disputed the claims in the plea, stating that the DJB is not a government entity but a statutory body formed under the Delhi Water Board Act, 1998. It clarified that this case does not concern the allocation of funds from the legislative assembly’s budget but involves the city government providing funds to the DJB through methods such as “capital loans, grant-in-aid, subsidies, ways and means,” as recommended by the administrative department.
The principal secretary rejected the government’s allegations against him as incorrect.
The affidavit noted that Rs 29,172 crore provided to the DJB between 2015 and 2023-24, with an additional Rs 4,572.90 crore released for 2023-24 alone.
During a hearing on April 5, the Supreme Court acknowledged senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani‘s submissions, representing the Principal Secretary (Finance), that the Delhi government, despite filing the plea against its own official, had not included the DJB as a party.
The bench stated,
“We will include DJB as a party to inquire with them about the outstanding dues. In the interim, please release the funds that are due for payment.”
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Delhi government, mentioned that despite the concerned minister writing six times to the finance secretary, the complete fund not yet released.
The court scheduled the further hearing of the Delhi government’s petition for April 10.
On April 1, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Principal Secretary (Finance) in response to a plea by the AAP government. The plea alleged that funds were not being released to the DJB despite budgetary approval by the legislative assembly.
The bench did not issue a notice to the lieutenant governor’s office after considering senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi’s submissions that the LG does not play a role in fund disbursement by the finance department of the Delhi government.
The Arvind Kejriwal government approached the Supreme Court on March 20 regarding this issue, which represents the latest conflict between the bureaucracy and the AAP administration in Delhi.