Union Minister appreciates Water Harvesting and localized STPs initiatives of Delhi government
SK.Vyas
New Delhi June 24, 2019: Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal on Monday demanded that Delhi’s share in water allocation which was fixed at 875 cusecs in 1996 and has remained static since then needs to be urgently raised with upward revision since the population of the national capital has nearly doubled since then.
The demand was made by the Chief Minister in the call-in meeting with the Union Jal Shakti Minister, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, which was attended by Delhi Urban Development Minister, Shri Satyendra Jain, Chief Secretary Delhi, all top officials from the Union Ministry and the Delhi Jal Board.
Shri Kejriwal informed the Union Minister that Delhi’s water requirement was last fixed in 1996 when the population of the city was 1.25 crore, and in the last 23 years Delhi has undergone massive expansion since then and the population has also shot up during last more than two decades.
The Chief Minister appealed to Shri Shekhawat to urgently address the issue of increasing the water allocation of Delhi.
“Today’s water requirement of Delhi cannot be met with what was fixed in 1996, I also appeal to you to consider the fact that Delhi is the country’s capital and all concerned authorities must ensure that drinking water is available to all the residents. It must be the primary responsibility of all,” the Chief Minister said.
Shri Kejriwal said drinking water demand must be given priority over the demand for water for irrigation.
The Chief Minister said the water demand in Delhi will further go up in coming months and years with the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) Land Pooling policy coming up. According to policy, at least 16 lakh new flats will be constructed in the city and this will further increase the water demand in a major way.
The Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to expedite the necessary approvals for the Delhi government’s ambitious project for natural water storage in the Yamuna floodplains.
Kejriwal explained that with this project Delhi will be able to meet its water demand for at least half year with the storage of single day Monsoon rain.
Shri Shekhawat assured that the Union Ministry will examine the Delhi government’s proposal and give its opinion within three days of receiving it.
The Chief Minister informed in the meeting that Delhi government is giving top priority to water conservation and as a major step Rain Water Harvesting is being made compulsory in all Delhi government school buildings and government buildings. This will ensure water conservation in a big way.
Delhi government is also installing localized Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in all Delhi government schools buildings to minimize wastage of water.
Delhi government is also working on a project to conserve water in residential areas, which will begin with the Group Housing Societies, where the plan is to install a double piping system for segregating toilet and kitchen/bathroom waste water for recycling.
The Union Minister appreciated the Water Conservation efforts of the Delhi government. Yamuna cleaning and other important issues were also taken up for a healthy discussion during the meeting.