Delhi govt aims to boost water supply to meet demand during summers

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will undertake four new projects to increase water supply to the national capital ahead of summer this year, a senior official said Wednesday. The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has identified six locations on the Yamuna floodplain between Wazirabad and Okhla with a potential of 383 MLD (million litres per day) water. "The Delhi Jal Board is already extracting some water from one or two of the locations. However, most of the potential is untapped," he said.

The decision was taken in a meeting on water augmentation in Delhi, chaired by Chief Minister and DJB Chairman Arvind Kejriwal, he said. The chief minister focused on the projects of water augmentation and also fixed March-end as the deadline for completion of four projects. The meeting was also attended by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, UD Minister Satyendra Jain, DJB Vice Chairperson Dinesh Mohaniya, the MLAs from the east and north Delhi and other senior officials. Under the first project, water extraction from six locations between Wazirabad and Okhla would be carried out, the official said.

Kejriwal said this should be done on priority and be completed before the summer sets in. Under the second project, freshwater pockets have been identified in Dwarka. "WAPCOS, a consultant of the Delhi Jal Board has identified freshwater pockets in Dwarka area. These fresh pockets would now be developed to augment water supply in the area. It is expected to create an additional 22.5 MLD water," the official said. Kejriwal directed that the new source is developed fast so that water could be supplied to the residents of the area by March-end, he said.

Under the third project, the closed Ranney wells and borewells would be restarted. Kejriwal had last week directed officials to replicate the pilot ammonia treatment plant model during his visit to the project in east Delhi. This has paved the way to restart the seven non-functional Ranney wells and around 125 borewells in Delhi.

"Now the problem of ammonia in water can be handled with the new technique. The ammonia treatment plants should be put up as soon as possible to restart these non-functional units. This should be completed by March-end so that there is no dearth of water in the summers," he said. Under the fourth project, additional bores in areas with high water table would be made, the official said. The chief minister has directed the officials to identify areas for additional bores in the north and east Delhi where the water table is high. He also asked the MLAs of these respective areas to help the DJB in identifying the locations for bores, the official said.

(With inputs from agencies.)