BJP attacks CM, blames her water woes of west Delhi

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today came under severe attack from BJP which accused her of "deliberately" not providing water to various areas of West Delhi for last 15 years due to political reasons.
Raising the issue in the Assembly, a number of BJP leaders alleged that the Delhi Jal Board has diverted water meant for people of Palam and adjoining areas to various construction sites near the Indira Gandhi International Airport and demanded a thorough probe into the matter.
"The water has been diverted for use in construction of a number of hotels and some other projects. We demand a thorough inquiry into it. This is a very serious issue," Leader of Opposition V K Malhotra said.

"The Chief Minister has been depriving people of Palam and nearby areas of water due to political reasons. We condemn this," he said. The Congress legislators rejected the allegations.
Accusing Dikshit of "playing politics" on the water issue, Palam MLA Dharam Deo Solanki even threatened to resign from membership of the House and said people of his constituency have been "thirsty" for last 15 years.
"If you do not repair the roads, if you do not set up schools and hospitals and other facilities in my constituency, then I will not have any problem. Do not give us anything but please give us water. People of the area have been facing unimaginable difficulties due to non-supply of water," said Solanki, in an emotional appeal to Dikshit who is also chairperson of Delhi Jal Board.

As soon as a number of BJP MLAs linked an influential person with the upcoming hotels, almost all the Congress legislators rose on their feet and vehemently denied the allegations.

As repeated attempt by Speaker Yoganand Shastri to restore order did not yield result, he adjourned the House for 40 minutes.
When the House assembled again, Solanki alleged a "huge scam" in water distribution and insisted on a probe into the matter.
Bijwasan MLA Satprakash Rana said he had written around 17,000 letters to the government on the issue of water scarcity and even met Dikshit for numerous times but to no avail.

"The people are suffering for last so many years. It is difficult to imagine their plight. I will be happy if the government supplies water in my area just once a week," said Rana.
Blaming massive construction activities in and around the Indira Gandhi International Airport for shortage of water in Palam and adjoining areas, Malhotra also mentioned about the CAG report last year in which the auditor had slammed the Centre for giving out the airport and its land with a potential earning capacity of Rs 1,63,557 crore to private-led operator DIAL.
"The CAG had mentioned about the losses and the irregularities. We want a detail probe into diversion of water," said Malhotra.