Delhi L-G taking false credit for Bhalswa Lake cleaning, says Saurabh Bharadwaj

He alleged that the Lt Governor has been consistently claiming credit for various initiatives related to the Yamuna cleaning, lake rejuvenation and drain de-silting, which have been going on for several years.Saxena, accompanied by Delhi government officials, on Tuesday visited Bhalswa Lake and took to his Twitter handle to announce that the Delhi Development Authority DDA was responsible for the rejuvenation work, suggesting that it began after his first visit in October 2022.Bharadwaj responded to Saxenas claims on Twitter, sharing copies of work orders and other documents.

Lt Governor VK Saxena is claiming ''false credit'' for the cleaning and rejuvenation work at Bhalswa Lake that has been underway since January 2022, Delhi Jal Board Chairman Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged on Tuesday.

Reacting to Bharadwaj's allegations, an official from the L-G Secretariat said his claims were ''unfortunate, baseless and bereft of facts''.

In a strongly-worded statement, Bharadwaj accused Saxena of engaging in petty public relations activities and attempting to take credit for the efforts of the Arvind Kejriwal government. He alleged that the Lt Governor has been consistently claiming credit for various initiatives related to the Yamuna cleaning, lake rejuvenation and drain de-silting, which have been going on for several years.

Saxena, accompanied by Delhi government officials, on Tuesday visited Bhalswa Lake and took to his Twitter handle to announce that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was responsible for the rejuvenation work, suggesting that it began after his first visit in October 2022.

Bharadwaj responded to Saxena's claims on Twitter, sharing copies of work orders and other documents. He said the work at Bhalswa Lake, like at other water bodies, was being carried out by the Kejriwal government, with the Delhi Jal Board being at the forefront. Bharadwaj, who holds the Water department portfolio, also shared the work order, amounting to Rs 4.52 crore, issued by the Delhi Jal Board on January 4, 2022, which predated Saxena's appointment. Saxena assumed office in May 2022 while the DDA granted permission to the Delhi Jal Board to work on the lake's rejuvenation on May 17, 2019.

Bharadwaj said the DDA, as an agency under the central government, owns a significant portion of land and lakes in the city. Recognising that many of these water bodies were in a dilapidated state, Kejriwal directed the Delhi Jal Board to coordinate with the land-owning agency to undertake their rejuvenation using the funds allocated by the city government. After persistent efforts, the Delhi Jal Board finally obtained work permission from the DDA to initiate the rejuvenation of these water bodies, including Bhalswa Lake, he said.

Bharadwaj said Saxena should acknowledge the hard work and dedication put into these projects by those who truly deserve credit. An official from the L-G Secretariat said Saxena visited the lake on October 15 and saw its pathetic condition. ''No work to clean the water body was going on. The Lt Governor then directed the DDA to take over the lake. That's when the cleaning work actually started,'' the official said.

Saxena went to inspect the cleaning work on October 26 and again on the day of Chhath Puja.

''Proper statements were issued by the L-G Secretariat and the Lt Governor even tweeted about the developments from his own handle. Also, on the directions of the Lt Governor, a wall was constructed by the DDA to stop the flow of dung from the neighbouring village into the lake. It is the result of all these efforts that the BOD level in the lake has decreased from 49 to 14,'' the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)