15 March 2024, New Delhi
In the Delhi Legislative Assembly, the Chief Secretary, along with officials, were made to appear before the Delhi Vidhan Sabha on the issue of water and sewage. They also handed over a report on long-term solutions to the water and sewerage problems to Water Minister Atishi.
Minister Atishi informed the assembly that officials have begun work on the water and sewerage issues across Delhi. Orders were given to investigate the causes of this problem over the past year.
During a special session held on Friday to discuss water supply and sewage, the Chief Secretary presented a report on the actions taken during the past week. It was stated that many complaints have been addressed, while others will be resolved promptly. The lack of coordination between the Delhi Jal Board, Urban Development Department, and Finance Department over the past year has cost the people of Delhi dearly. There should be an investigation into this, and strict action should be taken against those responsible. Immediate and long-term solutions to issues such as sewer overflow, contaminated water, and pipeline leaks were presented, and these solutions have been passed by the Vidhan Sabha unanimously.
On March 9, a resolution was presented in the Vidhan Sabha regarding the growing problems of sewage and water. The Vidhan Sabha directed the Chief Secretary to resolve water supply and sewage issues within a week. Following the Vidhan Sabha’s stern directives, the Chief Secretary has undertaken work related to sewage and water issues in the city over the past week and assured progress on several fronts. This information was presented today by Water Minister Atishi in the Vidhan Sabha. However, several complaints still persist, and it is necessary to address these complaints within the next week. Even for those complaints that have been resolved, efforts are needed for their long-term solutions. Therefore, there was a resolution today in the Vidhan Sabha with the following directions:
- The Chief Secretary shall continue to monitor and supervise the short-term and long-term resolution of water and sewer problems across Delhi.
- Since Delhi faces shortage of water supply, especially in the summer months, a detailed plan will be made for augmentation of water resources from ground water. This will be done on a war footing to ensure relief to the people of Delhi from this summer itself.
- Since many complaints have been received that the number of tankers has been reduced, the water tankers shall be brought back to earlier numbers. Chief Secretary shall reduce the number of tankers, only after consultation with area MLAs.
- Since many parts of Delhi face sewer overflow due to the absence of stormwater drains, the Chief Secretary will coordinate with MCD to resolve this problem.
- Till resolution of issue of stormwater drains is done, an estimation needs to be done of the number of sewer cleaning machines and the frequency with which sewer cleaning and desilting needs to be done to prevent sewer overflow across Delhi. Adequate number of small and large machines need to be available for this purpose with Delhi Jal Board.
- Desilting of all trunk and peripheral sewers needs to be done in a time-bound manner.
- Timelines need to be provided regarding the award and completion of works that have been reported in the ‘Action Taken Report’ as being ‘in the tendering process’.
- The Chief Secretary to ensure better coordination between Delhi Jal Board, Urban Development Department and Finance, so that critical utilities like water and sewerage do not get affected.
- It is appreciable that Delhi Jal Board has worked on a war footing in the last 5 days to resolve grievances being faced by the residents of Delhi; however, strong action needs to be taken against officers who have not done their duties in resolving water and sewerage related grievances of the people of Delhi in the last few months.
- The Chief Secretary shall be responsible for actioning all the issues, as well as the pending grievances. A sitting of the House be called on 22.03.2024, where the Chief Secretary will provide a report on the same.
On this occasion, Water Minister Atishi said that during the past week, all issues related to the Jal Board raised in the Vidhan Sabha were addressed. However, if all these tasks could be completed in just one week, then why were they pending for the past 6 months? This is a matter that calls for inquiry and investigation. She stated that due to the lack of coordination between the Jal Board, Urban Development Department, and Finance Department, the acute water and sewerage problem in the city over the past year may perhaps be unprecedented in Delhi’s history. Even small tasks of the Delhi Jal Board were affected in the past year, such as the absence of sewer machines, inability to replace pipelines in small sections, pipeline leaks, and tanker unavailability where tankers were needed. Due to the lack of coordination between the Jal Board, Urban Development Department, and Finance Department, the public of Delhi have to suffer. People are not getting water, they are facing sewerage problems, and sewers are overflowing in front of people’s homes.
She said that the salaries of officials, including ours as representatives of the people, come from the taxes of the people of Delhi. In this regard, we all have a responsibility towards the people of Delhi, and there is a need for an investigation into the extremism and atrocities that have occurred in the past year due to the failure to resolve the Jal board’s issues faced with the people of Delhi. Whoever is found at fault in this investigation must face strict action.
The Water Minister shared that the government is in talks with Himachal Pradesh to alleviate the water shortage in Delhi, and the issue has also been raised in the Upper Yamuna Board by Delhi. She said that the groundwater level is good in many areas of Delhi, especially around the Yamuna and northern Delhi, and the water quality is also good. In this regard, the government is preparing a plan for groundwater augmentation, for which the Chief Secretary has taken personal responsibility.
She said that to solve the sewerage problem, the process of desilting trunk and peripheral sewers has been initiated. A timeline regarding this will also be presented to the assembly. The Chief Secretary has been directed to coordinate with the MCD to construct drains where they are lacking and to stop drains where sewer water is flowing, to prevent sewer overflow. Until this work is completed, machinery availability should be ensured in every area by the Jal Board so that the people of Delhi do not face any problems, and an adequate supply of contract labour should also be arranged, along with addressing all tanker-related issues.
She said that the Delhi government will regularly submit reports to the assembly on the problems and solutions related to water and sewage in Delhi, and efforts will be made to adopt long-term solutions in areas with more problems in addition to short-term solutions for these issues in Delhi.
