Published 17:13 IST, November 22nd 2019
Only 117 localities have complaints of dirty water, says Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
AAP Cheif Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 'dirty water allegations' says, only '117 localities have complaints of dirty water'.
After addressing a press conference on the water pollution row in Delhi on Friday, AAP Cheif Minister Arvind Kejriwal has come out to tweet his reply to the 'dirty water allegations' slapped on him by the BSI report saying that only 117 localities in Delhi have complained about dirty water. Recently a report released by Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan showed that the water quality in the national capital did not meet the quality standards as all 11 samples from the city failed to meet the BSI mark. Arvind Kejriwal answered the questions on the same saying that he wasn't interested in "politicizing the issue." He later went on to tweet about the same.
"In 2015, almost 2300 localities had complaints about dirty water. We fixed this. Now only 117 localities have complaints about dirty water. There too, work is being done with full force. It takes time to fix a bad system of 70 years, his tweet reads.
On Friday, Kejriwal started off his press conference by announcing exemptions on new water and sewer connections. Arvind Kejriwal announced that now for any sized plot, a flat charge of Rs. 2,310 would be applied for buying a new water connection in place of the previous Rs100 per metre system. While taking questions he said, "My government's priority is to provide clean water to the people of Delhi. People are doing 'dirty' politics regarding water quality in Delhi. I request you to tell me personally if dirty water comes anywhere, we'll get it fixed."
“We changed the water pipelines in Sant Nagar in 2018 after they complained of adulterated and dirty water in the area. A similar issue surfaced in Kamalpur, Buradi in 2019 and we replaced the pipes...I can give you more than 15 examples of such places to you. There have been more than 2,300+ colonies facing the issue of receiving unclean water. There are still some areas that need improvement. We cannot correct all the wrongs that have been committed in the last 70 years”
Updated 18:04 IST, November 22nd 2019