HC order against ex-DJB chief jolts Congress poll plans

Mathur at present holds the sensitive portfolio of Director (Enforcement) in the state’s Finance department. The court’s order, department officers said, could not have come at a worse time as the Congress-led administration is in its last lap to the Assembly elections. Officers also pointed out that Mathur is supervising several important cases in his present post.

Mathur’s appointment to the post came after a long-scrutinised selection process and it does not help that he is now under fire for failing to prevent pollution in the Yamuna. While Arun Mathur told Newsline: “We are trying to find a way out of this imbroglio,” government sources said the state would possibly move the Supreme Court to bring a stay on the order.

DJB’s present chief Ramesh Negi said, “We have not officially received a copy of the order. We will not be able to say anything on what went wrong unless we study it. We shall appeal after internal discussions.”

The court’s order pertained to filth seeping into a particular storm-water drain — a four-kilometre watercourse that runs along Greater Kailash I, Chirag Enclave and Masjid Moth in South Delhi. Negi added: “We had invited tenders to repair the drain and contracts were also awarded. We shall float fresh tenders in the next 15 days.”

Mathur is from the 1977 batch of the Indian Administrative Service cadre and has served almost four years in the DJB. He has worked on two big Yamuna Action Plans — meant for cleaning up the river. Sources estimate the money spent on these projects was approximately Rs 15,000 crore. The senior officer was also a strong contender for the post of the municipal chief earlier this year.

Apart from Mathur, two other top DJB officials — Chief Engineer (Drainage) R K Jain and Executive Engineer P Pant — were given similar punishments after a contempt petition was filed by the Residents’ Welfare Association in Greater Kailash I’s S block.