In a bid to combat water wastage and ensure access to clean water for all residents of Delhi, Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal has announced the installation of flow metres on all Underground Reservoirs (UGRs) across the state. The Chief Minister made this announcement during a high-level review meeting on several water-related issues, held on Friday.
As per CM’s directive, not a single drop of water should be wasted & flow metres would be installed on both primary and secondary UGRs. The government aims to closely monitor the water usage and detect leaks or other issues that may lead to wastage. Furthermore, wherever the groundwater level is higher, the government will install industrial Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems to provide clean and pure water to people’s homes.
The CM has instructed officials to initiate a tender for industrial RO plants within a month. To tackle the challenges related to land acquisition for installing tubewells, the CM has summoned a meeting on March 31. The Delhi Government is determined to overcome all hurdles and ensure that Delhi residents have access to clean and pure water. The government’s efforts to install flow metres on all UGRs and set up RO plants will undoubtedly help in creating a sustainable water supply system in the city.
Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal reviewed the ongoing projects aimed at completely stopping the wastage of water in Delhi and to increase the production of water by installing tube wells. During this, the Chief Minister laid special emphasis on saving every drop of water extracted from the water treatment plant from getting wasted. Along with this, the current status of tubewells being installed across Delhi and land related issues were also discussed in detail during the meeting. Delhi Water Minister Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj, Chief Secretary, CEO of Delhi Jal Board, Irrigation Department and officials of other concerned departments were present in the meeting.
Officials of Delhi Jal Board informed the CM that water goes to primary UGR from the water treatment plants and then to the secondary UGR. After this, water is supplied to people’s homes from the secondary UGR. Additionally, in many areas, water is being supplied directly to the areas by tapping water from the water treatment plant into pipes. At the same time, in many areas, tapping has been done between the primary UGRs and the secondary UGRs, to supply water to consumers.
In the review meeting, Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal directed the officials to install flow metres on every tapping so that it can be ascertained how much water is being supplied. With the help of flow metres, then it can also be assessed at which location water is being wasted. The CM said that every drop of water needs to be saved and used properly.
Few months back the CM had ordered that tube wells and ranney wells should be installed on a large scale in all those areas of Delhi where the groundwater level is high and the water quality is good. Along with this, he had instructed officials to install industrial ROs in areas where water is available, but TDS is high.
During the meeting, Delhi Jal Board officials said that tenders have been published for industrial RO systems, but there is a need to re-tender the project. On this, the CM has given Delhi Jal Board one month’s time to re-tender the project.
The Chief Minister directed the officials of the department to solve the problems being faced in the installation of tube wells and find a solution at the earliest after talking to the concerned departments. Officials also informed that many tube wells are to be installed on the land under the jurisdiction of DDA. Discussions are on with DDA and it is expected to be resolved soon. They further contended that the Delhi Jal Board has acquired land for installation of tube wells in the areas falling under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department and has started work expeditiously. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal has called a high-level meeting on March 31 to resolve land-related problems in setting up tube wells. The Chief Minister has directed Minister Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj to coordinate with all the departments to solve this problem. It is expected that the land related issue will be resolved in the upcoming meeting.
At the same time, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal directed all the officers to complete the ongoing tubewell project within two months along with installation of flowmeters. The CM has given strict orders to curb unauthorised tapping and asked officials to identify them on priority. The CM has also asked the officials to ensure that all tube wells flow into the UGRs, so that their water is not wasted.
