Increasing water supply on Delhi govt agenda

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday directed senior government officials to expedite talks with neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to ensure increased water supply to Delhi.

“Our aim is to increase the availability of clean drinking water to every household in Delhi. For this purpose, we have to expedite all ongoing projects related to wastewater reuse and groundwater recharge,” Kejriwal said, after chairing a review meeting with senior officials of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) on Monday.

A statement issued by the CM’s office said, “… 25 MGD [million gallons per day] treated water will be diverted from the nearby Rithala STP [sewage treatment plant] to the Auchandi canal (to Haryana), in return for the same amount of clean water that will be received from Haryana for drinking purposes. The chief minister instructed to expedite the negotiations with other states and Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB). Similarly, in the case of Uttar Pradesh, 140 MGD of treated water through STPs will be provided to Uttar Pradesh for irrigation purposes in return for 140 MGD clean drinking water.”

“The chief minister reviewed various projects of groundwater recharge occurring through lakes and water bodies and instructed the department officials to submit timelines of water extraction from the areas where the groundwater levels are high,” the statement read. “He also reviewed the upgradation of 13 common effluent treatment plants (CETPs). DSIIDC officials informed that the department is working on the scheme of converting the CETPs’ outlet water into drinking water by the installation of RO [reverse osmosis] units. This RO water will be supplied back to industries for running their units.”