 "Arvind Kejriwal")
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday directed the installation of RO-ATMs at locations, besides JJ clusters, where water supply is provided by tankers, to eliminate the tanker culture in the national capital.
He announced the decision in a meeting with Delhi Jal Board and Water Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj.
In the meeting, the CM assessed the state of water supply in Delhi, RO-ATMs, Yamuna cleanliness, and the cleaning of the trunk and peripheral sewer systems happening for the first time in Delhi, said a government statement.
Kejriwal requested a detailed plan from the DJB on the complete clean up of the Yamuna by June 2024.
So far, RO plants have been installed in Hari Nagar's Khajan Basti, Shakurbasti, Deshbandhu Apartments in Kalkaji, and Jharoda, with 30 more RO plants in the process of being installed. There is a plan to install approximately 500 RO plants in Delhi.
The results of these RO plants have been quite promising, and people have been provided with Water ATMs (cards) for this purpose, the government said in the statement.
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Each person can take 20 litres of water per day through these water ATMs.
The government on Friday said it will deploy RO-ATMs in areas where water supply is provided through tankers, limiting the use of tankers only when there is an emergency.
The CM also directed all relevant agencies to acquire land for the installation of these RO-ATMs, the statement said.
During the review meeting, the CM was informed by the DJB officials that the DJB is currently producing 990 MGD (Million Gallons per day) of water and it has plans to increase it to 1222.65 MGD. Groundwater extraction through tube wells is in progress, with 224 tube wells already awarded for the task, it said.
In areas where the water table is significantly low, 441 tube wells will be installed. Water will be extracted from lakes in seven locations through groundwater recharge, and will be supplied after treatment at RO plants, it said.
The setting up of a centralised ammonia removal treatment plant is also underway in east Delhi.
Officials said 145 tube wells are currently deployed to extract water at several parts in the city, pumping 18 MGD, a number slated to increase to 27 MGD in the coming days, it added.
Kejriwal, in his turn, directed DJB officials to conduct a survey of all existing tube wells in Delhi and find out where else they are needed.
The CM demanded within a week a complete report detailing the number of tube wells installed so far and how many of them are operational.
A team led by a senior engineer will be formed for the survey, said the statement.
Kejriwal suggested the formation of teams for the seven lakes and sewage treatment plants and ordered forming teams for water recharge and recycling.
He directed a quick installation of RO plants in all seven lakes.
The CM said the tender process for 24-hour water supply in east and northeast Delhi is already underway, the statement added.
Kejriwal in the meeting expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the progress in sewage treatment work and demanded it be sped up so that Yamuna can be made clean.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
