Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal has directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to take immediate action to resolve the problem of contaminated water in Delhi. The Chief Minister emphasised that it is the government’s responsibility to provide clean water to the citizens of Delhi, and no household should have to face the problem of receiving dirty water anymore. The CM said that no delay or compromise will be tolerated in providing clean water to Delhiites and all officers must work on war footing.
To ensure that the issue is resolved swiftly, the Chief Minister today chaired a high-level review meeting today. Water Minister Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj, DJB VC Shri Somnath Bharti, DJB CEO and concerned senior officials were present in the meeting. CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal has directed the DJB to repair all flow meters installed at Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and Primary Underground Reservoirs (UGRs) within the next 15 days. The Chief Minister has also decided to personally monitor the production and supply of water in Delhi and has directed the department to submit daily reports.
In a stern message to the officials responsible for the unwarranted delay in the RO-water project, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal rapped the officers and said that they are free to resign if they cannot meet the timelines. He added that the government will not tolerate any delay or laxity in providing clean water to the citizens of Delhi. The Chief Minister’s directives are aimed at ensuring that Delhi gets freedom from contaminated water, and the citizens can get access to clean and safe drinking water. The government is committed to providing every citizen of Delhi with clean and safe drinking water, and these steps are a testament to this commitment.
Delhi will soon get freedom from contaminated water. Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal has strictly instructed the Water Department and Delhi Jal Board to resolve the problem on war footing. The Chief Minister had chaired another of his regular review meetings to take stock of Delhi’s water supply. During the meeting, the CM said that he has been frequently receiving complaints of contaminated water supply from across the city. He directed the department to identify areas which get poor quality of water regularly and reach the root cause of the problem on priority. “No household in Delhi should get dirty or contaminated water in their homes now. It is our responsibility to provide the residents with the cleanest form of water possible. The officers must form a list of areas suffering from this problem and identify localised solutions for mitigating it on priority,” the CM said. Upon the CM’s directions the Delhi Jal Board will constantly monitor such complaints and resolve them as per the needs of the area.
Simultaneously, the CM has also issued directions to the department to ensure that all flow meters installed on water treatment plants and primary UGRs are up and running within 15 days. During the meeting the CM was apprised that certain flow meters installed at WTPs are not functional due to their outdated technology. Taking a serious view over the matter, the CM pulled up the concerned officials saying that he was completely astonished that such a situation has arisen in the state. Explaining the severity of the shortcomings, he added that in the last seven years of his government, he had never seen any instance where flow meters of WTPs were out of order. Now, the Delhi Jal Board will repair all the flow meters and connect them to its online network to monitor the production and supply levels of water levels across the state. The CM has also instructed the department to submit daily readings of all the flow meters to him so that he can asses whether any water is being wasted in Delhi. Along with this, the CM has also set a deadline of 30th May for installing flow meters on all secondary UGRs. The CM further noted that the project was seeing some delays on part of power companies and directed Water Minister Shri Saurabh Bhardwaj to meet with the Chairmen of these companies immediately to resolve the issues within the next 72 hours.
The CM also reviewed the RO project during the meeting. Under this plan, the Delhi Jal Board will set up industrial quality RO systems at 450 sites across Delhi to further enhance the quality of extracted water in the state. Upon being apprised that the previous tender was rendered unsuccessful, the CM enquired as to why the department is delaying a fresh tender. The CM said that such laxity on part of the officers was completely unacceptable and questioned as to why the officers were not working in mission mode to resolve the issue. “Do holding such review meetings every week serve no purpose? Such behaviour indicates a problem with the intent of the officers. I want a complete detailed breakup of the timelines of the RO project. If officers can’t live up to the timelines they are free to resign and leave the system,” the CM added. The CM has also instructed the department to immediately float another tender, so that pure water can be supplied to the residents at the earliest. He has strictly instructed the officials that no compromise will be tolerated in the quality of water being supplied to the residents.
