Big claim of Delhi Water Minister Pravesh Verma: New projects to improve water and sewer, DJB will come itself to clean the house tanks.
New Delhi. Delhi Water Minister Pravesh Verma launched a scathing attack on the previous government over the poor condition of water and sewerage in the capital. He alleged that the previous government paid more attention to opening liquor vends instead of providing clean water to the public. The minister announced several big projects to clean the Yamuna river and improve water supply. He says that with these initiatives the residents of the capital will get better facilities sitting at home. Specifically, Pravesh Verma informed that Delhi Jal Board will soon launch an online portal. Through this, consumers will be able to apply for cleaning of household tanks and this work will be done by the department itself. For this service, consumers will have to first register on the portal.
Delhi Water Minister Pravesh Verma blamed the functioning of the previous government for the increasing water and sewer problems in the capital. The minister said that the people of Delhi have been facing severe shortage of clean water and better sewerage facilities for many years, but the previous government did not take any concrete steps in this direction. He also alleged that the previous government focused more on other minor issues instead of water problems of the people. Pravesh Verma assured that his government is making serious efforts to solve these long standing problems and will provide better water services to the people of Delhi through new initiatives like cleaning of Yamuna river and online tank cleaning.
‘Work was stalled for 12 years’
Pravesh Verma said that water and sewer work had completely stopped in many areas and constituencies for the last 12 years, and even pipelines had not been laid at many places. The minister said that after the change of government, all these stalled works have been started on priority basis. He says that with the completion of these projects, the citizens of the capital will get continuous and safe water supply along with better sewer system.
‘Aim to clean Yamuna’
Delhi Water Minister Pravesh Verma said that making Yamuna river pollution free and its water clean is the priority of the new government. He clarified that there is full support from the Central Government to overcome water shortage and development of water projects in Delhi and there is no shortage of funds. The minister said that 35 new small and big sewer treatment plants (STP) are being installed to prevent dirty water from falling into Yamuna. Sewer water in these plants will be released into the river only after it is completely cleaned, so that the river water becomes pollution free and safe.
He said that 35 new sewer treatment plants (STP) will be ready in the next two years. The Minister said that along with new plants, repair work of old and dilapidated STPs of Delhi Jal Board is also being done, so that the problem of foam and smell in Yamuna can be completely eliminated.
The fee for the tank cleaning service to be started by the Jal Board is being fixed, which can range from free to Rs 40–50. Along with this, work will also be started on a large scale for cleaning the Yamuna river. Pravesh Verma said that Delhi Jal Board was created so that it could work independently by taking decisions. He alleged that during the tenure of former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, every major file of the Jal Board used to go to the Chief Minister, due to which the work was affected.
Accusations on opposition and issue of water crisis
Delhi Water Minister Pravesh Verma, targeting the opposition, said that according to the CAG report published in a newspaper, many ground water samples were found failed between 2017 and 2023. The minister alleged that previous governments focused on opening liquor vends and other minor issues instead of providing clean water to the public. He said that now the same opposition leaders themselves come to him seeking solution to the water problem.
Pravesh Verma said, “When they are asked what was done in the last 11 years, they say that they did not even get a chance to speak.” The Minister assured on the occasion that the new government is taking serious steps to solve the water crisis on priority basis and initiatives like Yamuna cleaning, tank cleaning and STP reforms are in this direction.
Water supply and infrastructure improvement plan
He said that Delhi requires about 1200 MGD (million gallons per day) water daily, whereas at present only about 1000 MGD water is available. Of this, about 875 MGD comes from canals and the rest through tube wells. Despite this, water loss is also quite high. The minister said that the government is setting up 35 new sewer treatment plants (STP), which will be ready in the next two years. Apart from this, 100 percent sewer connection will be established in 1799 colonies of the capital and all the colonies will be connected to these STPs, so that clean water and better sewer facilities can be ensured to every household.
Strictness on borewell and development works
Pravesh Verma said that strict action will be taken against those installing illegal borewells in the capital. He also clarified that proper permission will be given for domestic borewells. The minister claimed that water and sewer related work had not been done in many assembly constituencies for the last 12 years, but after the formation of his government, development works have been started there rapidly.
Pravesh Verma said that to solve the water problem of Delhi, full support is being received from the Central Government and there is no shortage of funds for this. He assured that the Delhi government is fully committed to providing clean water to every household and initiatives like cleaning of Yamuna river, new STP plants and sewer connections in colonies are being implemented on priority basis.
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