Shilpa Shinde, the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board, refuted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal’s assertion that the Haryana government had dumped “poison” into the Yamuna River on Monday amid an intensifying verbal spat over the water quality.
In a letter to Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra, Shilpa Shinde referred to the accusations as “factually incorrect, without basis, and misleading,” highlighting the possible harm that such statements could do to public confidence and interstate ties. Arvind Kejriwal said earlier in the day that the BJP-led Haryana government was contaminating Delhi’s raw water supply, likening it to “biological warfare,” and warning that it may cause widespread deaths in the capital.
In a previous press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi charged Haryana with purposefully dumping industrial garbage into the Yamuna. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) regularly checks the quality of the water and modifies its treatment procedures as necessary, as Shinde’s letter explained. “During winter, ammonia levels in the Yamuna naturally increase due to reduced flow and the mixing of untreated sewage or industrial waste upstream. DJB’s water treatment plants are designed to handle ammonia levels up to 1 ppm and even higher concentrations, such as 6.5 ppm at present, through dilution with water from the Carrier Lined Channel and Delhi Sub-Branch,” the letter said.
Shinde noted that the impact of untreated sewage upstream is exacerbated during the winter months due to the reduced water flow. But according to her, the Haryana government has started taking action to solve the issue, including installing pipelines in accordance with the National Green Tribunal’s recommendations.
The DJB CEO emphasized that such “fear-mongering statements” would harm ties with Haryana, a crucial upstream state, in addition to misleading Delhi citizens, and asked the chief secretary to send the matter to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
The impact of Shinde’s note on interstate ties has been brought to the attention of the lieutenant governor by the chief secretary. Kejriwal’s accusations were also denied by Haryana chief minister Nayab Saini, who claimed that the AAP government frequently places the blame for its own shortcomings on other people. In the highly tense atmosphere preceding the Delhi Assembly elections on February 5, the Yamuna’s cleanliness and water quality have become a sensitive topic.
