"Root cause of contaminated water should be identified" Delhi CM Kejriwal in DJB review meeting

New Delhi [India], June 19 : In a bid to tackle the root causes of water contamination, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed the Delhi Jal Board to come up with a comprehensive plan to provide a permanent solution for the affected areas, said a press release on Monday.

Demonstrating his commitment to resolving the contaminated water crisis, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal chaired a high-level review meeting with DJB officials. This meeting aimed to assess the progress made and discuss future strategies to ensure the timely implementation of the permanent solution, added the press release.

Water Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, Delhi Jal Board Vice Chairman Somnath Bharti and senior DJB officials were present in the review meeting.

During the review meeting, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal emphasised on the permanent resolution of complaints regarding contaminated water coming from selected places in Delhi. The Chief Minister instructed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to expedite the process of improving the quality of water so that the complaints of the people can be resolved.

"If there is a problem of contaminated water anywhere, it should be eliminated completely. The identification of the areas where contaminated water is being received should be ensured, and a detailed plan should be prepared for its permanent solution, followed by immediate implementation," he said.

Kejriwal gave strict instructions to DJB officials to promptly replace any pipes that are causing the problem of contaminated water, and no contaminated water should be allowed to be supplied anywhere. The CM has also directed the Delhi Jal Board officials to gather information from local legislators regarding the issue of contaminated water.

CM Arvind Kejriwal stated that the clean water obtained from all sewage treatment plants should be made usable. "This water should be taken to artificial lakes and picnic spots should be developed around these lakes so that people can have a pleasant experience. Later, when the groundwater level around these lakes rises, the water will be extracted using tube wells," he said.

The CM has given a final deadline to DJB for this. The Delhi Jal Board also presented a detailed plan to the CM on how long it will take for each sewage treatment plant's effluent to be made usable.

The CM has given instructions to fix all non-functioning flow metres and make them operational again. These flow metres are being installed on primary and secondary water connections. He said that the work of installing flow metres should be expedited on all primary connections, and this task should be completed quickly.

"After that, the work of installing flow metres on secondary connections should be initiated," he said/ The CM stated that flow metres should be installed on all tappings, inputs, and outputs. "This work should be completed as soon as possible so that updates from all 2,700 flow metres can be received in real time," he said. CM Kejriwal has also called for a meeting on the upcoming Wednesday regarding the issue of flow metres.

In the meeting, the DJB presented a report on the identified land for installing tube wells. According to the report, DJB has identified 1,075 locations in Delhi's 12 assembly constituencies where approximately 1,428 tube wells will be installed. Currently, there are already 4,200 tube wells in place. DJB has requested the relevant department to acquire the land for this purpose, and it is expected that the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the land will be obtained soon.

CM Kejriwal stated that until the NOCs for the land are received from the concerned departments, the quality of the water there should be checked, and once the NOCs are obtained, the work of installing the tube wells should begin. This task of installing tube wells should be completed within the next six months. A list would be prepared for the tube wells that need to be removed within the next year, and no flow metres would be installed on them.

Arvind Kejriwal has directed the DJB to improve the availability and quality of water in Delhi. He said that the water coming out of the tube wells should also be of good quality. "It should not be the case that water is extracted but it is not suitable for use. Whatever necessary steps are required to improve the quality of water should be taken, but people should receive water of good quality. If there is a need to install RO (Reverse Osmosis) or ammonia removal plants, they should be installed," he said.

The CM also reviewed the initiatives related to installing RO plants in JJ (Jhuggi-Jhopri) colonies.

The following 20 JJ colonies have been identified for installing RO plants are, Indira Camp No. 3, Pankaj Garden, Sonia Gandhi Camp, Navjeevan Camp, GBB School Road Khanpur, Aya Nagar Bandh Road, Das Garden Baprola Vihar, Satyam Puram Colony, Geetanjali Enclave, among others.

The CM has directed DJB to start the work of installing RO plants in all the identified colonies. He said that the officials should visit the identified locations and encourage the residents there to use RO water.

"If people are not using RO water, then that water should be used elsewhere," he said. The Chief Minister has also instructed DJB to present a detailed plan with a timeline and discuss the arrangements required if the water needs to be taken to any reservoir, along with laying pipeline infrastructure. He also directed to expedite the work of CETP (Common Effluent Treatment Plant) and complete ammonia neutralisation by October.