"Senior civil servants receiving threats from 'higher office' if they implement scheme," claims Kejriwal

New Delhi [India], February 19 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed that senior civil servants of the Delhi government are not cooperating with the state government in implementing a scheme related to one-time settlement of unpaid water bills, saying that they are being threatened by "higher office," indicating at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"This scheme was passed by June 13, 2023. But it has not been implemented yet. For that it needs to be brought to the cabinet. The Finance Secretary is saying that he will not give his comments, and the UD (Urban Development) Secretary is saying that he will not bring the bill to the cabinet without comments. Officers have stated in writing that they will not implement this. Officers are saying that they are being threatened of suspension, expulsion, or raids by the ED and CBI. They are ready to resign. This is a constitutional crisis. We have asked the LG to intervene," Kejriwal said speaking in a press conference after his address in the Assembly on Monday.
Speaking in the Assembly, Kejriwal said that since Delhi is not a full-fledged state, it has fallen prey to "dirty" and "low-level politics" by the central government.
"Delhi has a problem. Though Delhi is half a state, I don't think it has five per cent of statehood. If it had been a full fledged state, no officer would have dared not to follow the directive of Ministers and Chief Minister. He would have been immediately suspended. Delhi is under the threat of dirty and low-level politics. Since Delhi is not a full fledged state, the real power is with the central government. They central government is run by a different party who do not want the elected government to function in Delhi properly," the Chief Minister said.
On the crisis of people not paying their water bills, Kejriwal said, "There are around 27 lakh consumers. 40 per cent do not pay their bills because they think their bill is frivolous."
The Chief Minister said that such bills may have been generated because during the pandemic, meter readings could not be taken properly.
On the one-time settlement scheme that the government wants to bring, Kejriwal said, "If in the recent two years, if you think that two or more readings are proper, the water bill for the entire unpaid period will be generated by multiplying the months with the meter reading for that month."
Explaining in detail the settlement scheme in the press conference, the Chief Minister said, "The Delhi government has come up with a one-time settlement scheme. Under this, in the last 2-4 years of which you have not paid the bill, if two of the bills are logical, as determined by you and the Jal Board, will be set as an average and multiplied by the number of months of the unpaid time, and a water bill will be generated."
Speaking in the Assembly about the administrative hurdles being faced by his government, Kejriwal said, "We want the scheme to come to the Cabinet. For that, we need the comments of Finance Secretary. But the Finance Secretary wrote on the file that he would not be giving comments...The UD secreatary said that he will not let the scheme be tabled in the cabinet till the Finance secretary gives his comments...Senior IAS officers started crying saying that they are being threatened by the higher office."
In a scathing attack at the BJP, Kejriwal said, "BJP hates Delhites. They want to destroy Delhi. They did not pay the rent for mohalla clinics for three months, did not pay bills, stopped yoga classes...Till I am alive, I will stand like a wall against the BJP."
"The LG said that he does not have any information about the matter. Even if you call these officers, the scheme will be passed by evening. If they do not approve this, the LG can suspend them," he added.
The Chief Minister also assured Delhi residents not to pay their bills till the time the one-time settlement scheme is implemented.
On skipping summons by the Enforcement Directorate for the sixth time, Kejriwal said, "The ED should wait for the court to decide before issuing a fresh summon."
On Chandigarh Mayor Manoj Sonkar resigning ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on allegations of irregularities in the vote-counting process, the Aam Aadmi Party chief said, "Their Mayor resigned yesterday. This shows that they were wrong. They had won the election through malpractice. If they do not win elections, they buy people."