People will get uninterrupted water supply during the summer, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured on Wednesday and asked officials to minimise wastage and curb supply chain problems.
Kejriwal also directed the water department officials to present a plan to complete the Chandrawal water treatment plant (WTP) by December and warned that no delay will be tolerated. He has asked for the plan in 24 hours.
During a meeting, the chief minister also asked for a proper plan within a week to treat high levels of ammonia in water coming from Haryana, according to a Delhi government statement.
Water Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that water flowing into the Yamuna river from neighbouring Haryana has industrial waste. "Untreated water is being released directly into the Yamuna. The quantity of ammonia in this water is so high that it cannot be treated by the treatment plants of Delhi," he said.
Work is underway to equip water treatment plants to treat ammonia in large quantities, Bharadwaj said. In addition, he said, areas with high water tables will be identified and groundwater will be extracted from there.
The chief minister, while charing the meeting, also called for a need to create a standard operating procedure (SOP) to regulate water inflow and outflow from lakes and asked officials to set up RO plants alongside lakes to clean and treat the water before supplying it to households.
The deadline for setting up RO plants alongside lakes has been set for September 30, the statement said.
The chief minister also pulled up officials for "laxity" in construction of the Chandrawal WTP during on-ground inspection. The plant, being upgraded, will benefit 22 lakh people in the city, it said.
He found that the progress of the project was not in line with the stipulated time frame.
"I am an engineer myself. I understand how project sites function. We will not tolerate any sort of shortcomings from the contractor's end. There is no room for any delays at this stage," Kejriwal said.
The summer supply plan of the government will focus on augmenting water availability and providing sufficient water to each household, the statement said.
Delhiites will get uninterrupted water supply during the summer, the chief minister said and asked the officials to minimise wastage and curb supply chain problems to maximise production capacity, according to it.
The chief minister asked officials to put all tube-wells to work and expedite construction of new ones.
"Faulty tube-wells should be repaired in 24 hours and in case of delays, the officers will be held accountable," said the chief minister, adding that he will again hold a review meeting on March 23.
He directed officials to complete the installation of water flow metres at underground reservoirs (UGRs) to curb wastage of water.
The chief minister also discussed the challenges faced in acquiring land for sewage treatment plants (STPs) and directed officials to resolve the issue expeditiously, the statement said.
He also stressed on the importance of utilising treated waste water and directed officials to accelerate work on the Chandrawal plant and install filter plants that can treat and recycle waste water. The statement said an ammonia removal plant is set to be established in Wazirabad.
The chief minister asked officials to complete the re-survey of the water bodies in the city, including those in under the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) control, within a week.
He pointed that around 250 water bodies are under the DDA and directed officials to work with the DDA to ensure that treated water from these water bodies is made available for public use.
Kejriwal has proposed increasing water availability up to 100 MGD from ground water, and has instructed officials to inspect sites and mark suitable land for this purpose.
-With PTI Input
