Friday, July 22 2005 17:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today (July 22, 2005) blamed the feud in the Ambani family for the capital's power crisis and non-cooperative attitude of neighbouring States for the water problem in the city.

Dikshit, whose Government has been under attack over power problems, said Congress President Sonia Gandhi had asked her to correct the situation.

"The power situation in Delhi has improved enormously after privatisation three years ago, but not to the satisfaction of the consumers," she told a 'Meet the Press' programme here during which she spoke on several other issues like transport, statehood demand, problem of multiplicity of authority, the capital's security problem.

Referring to the numerous complaints on account of power during the past several months, she said, "One of the two (distributing) companies (BSES) belong to a particular industrial house (Reliance) that was going through a lot of problems in the last one year. This affected their functioning.

"The Government waited patiently. The consumer suffered. We are very sorry for that," she said but did not name the Ambanis. Dikshit said the Assistant General Manager of Reliance Energy headed by Anil Ambani was called for a meeting by Delhi Government yesterday and was told in no uncertain terms that the grievances of the consumers, especially that of fast-running meters, be solved.

On complaints about power metres, Dikshit said the Reliance Energy has been instructed to give the choice to consumers about changing these and that the contractors employed by it should not be allowed to "terrorise" people on this count.

Maintaining that "lack of understanding" between the consumers and the provider as a major problem in the functioning of BSES, she said the company has given the assurance that an action plan for improving its consumer redressal mechanism will be worked out in the next four to five days.

On water, Dikshit said her Government has realised that Delhi is not going to be get unlimited water supply from the other States. Apparently referring to the dilly-dallying by Uttar Pradesh on giving water to Delhi, she said there was a lot of "non-understanding and reluctance to share water with Delhi" on the part of the neighbouring states.

"Inspite of all this, the water supply in Delhi is the best in the country," the Chief Minister claimed.

Reassuring that there were no plans of privatising water supply in Delhi, she said her Government simply wanted to employ the best experts and knowledge to improve water management.

"Securing World Bank funds does not mean privatisation of water," she said.

Dikshit said the 2010 Commonwealth Games would give a great impetus to infrastructure development in the capital. "Delhi's entire infrastructure, not just sports infrastructure, will be developed," she said.

On transport, Dikshit said Delhi Metro was a big leap forward, but it was not the only answer to solve the commuting woes of the people.

"Road traffic has to be made more disciplined, cleaner and more pleasing to the eyes. This will also help to wean away the consumers from their cars," she said, also referring to the traffic load coming in from the satellite towns everyday.

Replying to a query on the Government's reported plans to paint the DTC buses red, she said the buses would be given a new look and made more comfortable, but no decision had yet been taken on what should be its colour scheme.

Referring to the growing housing needs of the city, Dikshit said her Government favoured rehabilitation of residents of JJ clusters.

She informed that as part of the Urban Renewal Mission, there will be special emphasis on creating housing for the marginalized.

Responding to a question on corruption in Delhi, Dikshit said efforts were being to eliminate it through the Bhagidari system of citizen-Government partnership and with help of the Right to Information Act.