Keeping in sight the pivotal role of water and power in an election year, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit presenting the Delhi budget in the State Assembly on Wednesday promised an augmented power and water supply.
She announced that her government will pursue the release of the additional 80 MGD of water through the Munak canal that is being withheld by Haryana and push for early commencement of work related to the construction of the Renuka dam, which is expected to alleviate Delhi’s water woes. Ms. Dikshit said though the project has been declared a national project, work has been held up in the absence of clearances from the Ministry of Environment.
Aware of the public anger against inflated billing, the Chief Minister said the Government is “conscious that billing is an issue that has agitated the users”. She said the Delhi Jal Board has been asked to ensure accuracy of meters and regular billing.
The government, she said will construct a new water treatment plant of 31 MGD capacity at Palla, which will be used to treat raw water extracted from the tube wells on the Palla floodplains.
On the energy front, the Chief Minister said the State has already made several achievements.
She said power cuts have been reduced and the systems upgraded. Delhi’s electricity consumption has increased from 19,666 million units in 2002 to 25,349 million units in 2012.
The aggregate technical and commercial losses have been brought down from 60 per cent to 17 per cent, she said, adding: “The system could deliver a peak load of 5,642 MW last summer without any power cut.”
She said the Central Government has been asked to arrange the requisite supply of gas for the newly commissioned 1,500 MW Bawana power plant, which is currently not being able to work to its full capacity in the absence of gas.
The Chief Minister said in order to transmit the power procured from other States, the transmission network is also being strengthened.
She said new sub stations will be added to enhance supply and transmission.
