The Delhi Jal Board faces a procurement controversy after Aam Aadmi Party Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that a contractor began preparations for Yamuna defoaming work before the tender had been opened, and demanded an explanation from Delhi minister Parvesh Verma.
Bhardwaj released a video showing white tanks, motors and other equipment placed at a ghat near Kalindi Kunj. He said the tanks contained defoamer stock used to remove foam from the Yamuna and that the motors were intended to spray the chemical from boats.
According to Bhardwaj, the equipment and setup belonged to Icon Instruments, which he identified as the contractor involved in the proposed work. He questioned how the company could have started preparations when the tender had not yet been opened.
“Motors and labourers have arrived and they have been here for two or three days. But the surprising thing is that the tender for the defoaming work has not yet been awarded; the tender has not even been opened,” Bhardwaj said in the video, as reported by Live Hindustan. He asked how the company could know that it would receive the contract before the bidding process was completed.
Bhardwaj also claimed that an employee associated with Icon Instruments told him that a Delhi Jal Board engineer had instructed the company to come and begin work at the site. The report does not include an independent confirmation of that conversation, the identity of the alleged engineer, or documentary evidence showing that the contractor had been authorised to begin work.
The AAP leader described the allegation as evidence of a possible arrangement between contractors and officials in the Delhi Jal Board and said that opening the tender could be reduced to a formality if the successful contractor had already been decided. He compared the allegation with claims previously made by the party regarding the preparation of tender documents in a healthcare-related matter.
Bhardwaj called on Verma to respond and questioned why the government was undertaking Yamuna defoaming work if the river had already been cleaned the previous year. He also asked Chief Minister Rekha Gupta whether action would be taken over the allegation.
The report does not include a response from Verma, the Delhi Jal Board, Icon Instruments or the Delhi government. It also does not establish whether the equipment shown in the video was being used under an authorised work order, whether the tender had been formally published, or whether any work had been carried out in the river. Those questions remain central to determining whether the alleged pre-tender activity breached procurement rules.
The immediate issue is therefore not only the presence of equipment at Kalindi Kunj, but also whether any contractor was permitted to mobilise labour, machinery or chemical supplies before the Delhi Jal Board completed its tender process. A response from the department and disclosure of the relevant tender and work-order documents would clarify the matter.
