The newly sworn-in Delhi Government is likely to make an announcement on Monday on the free 700 litres of water to be distributed to each household every day.
Senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders had earlier promised they would take a decision on this within 24 hours of forming the government. The other parties have criticised the AAP alleging that it had made tall claims to mislead the people, claiming the party would never be able to fulfil the promises made through its election manifesto.
However, experts are of the opinion there is enough water available in this city to meet the target. Manoj Misra of non-government organisation Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan had earlier told The Hindu that nearly 850 million gallon daily (MGD) is at the disposal of the Delhi Jal Board and around 300 MGD of underground water is drawn in the rural parts of the city.
“Their (AAP) calculations are right, but I have a problem with the basis on which the calculations have been made. By announcing that it would provide 700 litres of water to every household per day, it has sought to meet the Bureau of Indian Standards’ criteria. However, do we really need so much water? An individual in India would require at the most 50 to 60 litres of water every day. Even when one uses 70 litres per day, a household of five members would require only 350 litres,” he said.
Mr. Misra said the government would have to take initiatives to ensure that leakages, which account for 40 per cent loss of water in the city, should be identified and plugged.
However, the experts have advised against free distribution of water urging the government to charge the minimum possible tariff to ensure that there is no wastage of water.
On the issue of the recent hike in CNG price, the State Government may hold another round of meeting with the Indraprastha Gas Limited officials on Monday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has assured the auto-rickshaw and taxi unions to take necessary measures to resolve the issue.
However, IGL officials have indicated they had to increase the price owing to a recent Gujarat High Court directive.
