DJB suspends three employees over corruption charges

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) today suspended three of its employees over charges of corruption and irregularities in meter-reading and billing, levelled by a city resident.
The decision comes after one Sohan Pal, a resident of Kalyan Puri, alleged inflated water bills and bribe being demanded by officials at the Janta Darbar of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 19.
According to DJB officials, Pal during the Darbar also alleged that when he contacted the officials over the "spiralling bill", they asked for a bribe of Rs 6,000 and when he refusd to pay the bribe, his bills "further skyrocketed".
The consumer has been representing through various authorities against the water bills received by him and finally decided to meet the chief minister at his regular Darbar.

The file was called on the same day after the complaint was handed over by the Chief Minister's office for examination.
"The facts after the examination clearly pointed out mala fide on the part of both the Meter Readers Satish Sharma and Umesh Sharma.

"The role of the meter inspector Vinod Kumar was also found to be suspicious since he should have checked such a high amount bill properly before allowing it to be delivered to the consumer," DJB said in a statement.
It also said that based on the facts found in the examination, both the meter readers and the meter inspector have been placed under suspension till detailed investigation is undertaken by vigilance department.

A show-cause notice has also been issued to the Zonal Revenue Officer (ZRO) for not explaining the position in the entire matter, the DJB said.