The Delhi Jal Board’s tender for removing foam from the Yamuna has come under political scrutiny after Aam Aadmi Party Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that a contractor’s equipment and labour were deployed at Kalindi Kunj before the tender’s financial bid was opened.
Bharadwaj identified the contractor as Icon Instruments and claimed that its equipment, chemical containers, pumps and workers had been present at the site for two to three days. He questioned how the contractor could have been selected or permitted to begin preparations before the tendering process was completed.
According to the allegations reported by Millennium Post, a DJB engineer identified as Durgan instructed the company to start work at the Yamuna site. Bharadwaj cited the alleged instruction while questioning whether the deployment indicated that the outcome of the tender had been determined before the financial bids were opened.
The issue concerns the removal of toxic foam that periodically accumulates on the Yamuna, particularly around areas such as Kalindi Kunj. Foam formation in the river has become a recurring public and administrative concern, requiring agencies to coordinate pollution-control measures, river cleaning operations and arrangements at visible stretches of the waterway.
Bharadwaj also drew parallels with what he described as alleged irregularities in health and road construction projects. He called on Delhi minister Parvesh Verma, who oversees both the Delhi Jal Board and the Public Works Department, to clarify whether action would be taken in response to the claims.
The report does not establish that the tender process was irregular, nor does it include a response from the Delhi Jal Board, the contractor or the minister to the allegations. The presence of equipment and workers before the opening of the financial bid, the identity of the party that authorised the deployment and the status of the tender remain central questions.
Any determination of wrongdoing would require examination of the tender documents, bid-opening timeline, work orders, site instructions and the authority under which the contractor’s personnel and equipment were deployed. The next public response from the Delhi Jal Board or the minister is expected to clarify whether an internal review or administrative action will follow.
