Aruna Roy demands CAG audit into Delhi water, power regime

Aruna Roy is known to be a critic of Kejriwal

 

National Advisory Council member and activist Aruna Roy known to be a critic of Arvind Kejriwal today joined Anna Hazare and Medha Patkar to voice her support for the activist who has been fasting since March 23 against alleged irregularities in the water and power tarriff regime in Delhi. She  demanded a "special audit'' of electricity and water supply in Delhi by the Comptroller and Auditor General and asked for the findings to be made public in a fixed and short time frame.

"Serious charges have been made showing possible collusion between authorities in the Government the Discoms and the regulator resulting in corrupt practices and arbitrarily high tariffs for the consumer. These warrant immediate and detailed enquiry and investigation by an independent and competent body,'" said a statement signed by Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shankar Singh of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan.

The statement noted that "while there can be a debate on the magnitude of the alleged misappropriation, and their implications on power tariffs, it is evident that the regulatory process has failed to provide adequate resolution to this issue - both in fact and in appearance. The litigation by DISCOMS to avoid RTI scrutiny and CAG audit, invites further questions.''

"It would therefore be appropriate if the Government were to immediately ask the CAG to conduct a special Audit of electricity and water supply in Delhi and make the findings public in a fixed and short time frame. The findings of the audit should also be taken to their logical conclusion resulting in legal and corrective action if and where necessary. If it is found that tariffs were arbitrarily and unjustifiably increased, not only should they be reduced and rationalized, but consumers should be given credit for past cases of overcharging, and the DISCOMS must be made to pay back unwarranted profits,'' the statement said.

The fast which has entered the tenth day today has already prompted a sheepish Opposition BJP to wake up to the matter. The party has been staging protests and raising the issue regularly since the AAP took up the matter.

Anna Hazare who had earlier expressed uncertainty about joining Kejriwal at the fast venue came to visit the activist last week.

The National alliance of People's Movement, a network of hundreds of civil society groups held together by Medha Patkar, also expressed solidarity with Kejriwal. "NAPM endorses the reason for the indefinite fast by Arvind Kejriwal. He has urged the people of Delhi to abstain from paying electricity and water bills on account of unjustifiably high billing amount, which lacks credibility on the one hand and accountability on the other. The cause for such inflated bills is on account of complicit corrupt practices within the nexus of private corporations and government, to which the public at large is succumbing,'' it said in a statement.

"NAPM supports Aam Aadmi Party’s call for institution of CAG audits to bring about accountability, transparency and justifiability in electricity and water bills. NAPM also urges Delhi government to take this issue up with utmost urgency and come out with corrective measures at the earliest. ''

Meanwhile Arvind Kejriwal today said that the fast would go on even as around eight lakh people have given signatures saying that they would stop paying electricity and water bills from March 23. He said that the Government of Delhi should slash the tarriffs by half in response to the difficulty faced by the public.