Citizens residing in Lutyens’ Delhi too will now get 20,000 litres of free water every month after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s intervention, the Delhi Government said on Sunday.
Every house in B.K Dutt Colony will get a free water connection and the benefits under the free water scheme following the CM’s directions to waive metering charges.
In addition, residents of East Kidwai Nagar and New Moti Bagh multi-storey complexes will receive personal water meters and there will be no need for bulk connections.
Connaught Place, Janpath and rest of New Delhi will now be cleaned as per international standards, Mr. Kejriwal said, adding that the Government will also hear the grievances of all New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) employees and stakeholders pertaining to pay scales.
A meeting of the NDMC was held under the leadership of Mr. Kejriwal on Sunday.
B.K Dutt Colony was established as a refugee colony and the residents initially were dependent on common toilets. Eventually, they started constructing personal toilets inside their homes from the common water connection.
The Government said that new water pipelines were laid in the area about four years ago but a lot of residents still have not taken connections. The major reason behind this is the connection charges amounting to ₹7,500.
“We are working on a mission to ensure that each government scheme reaches every resident of Delhi. There’s no point of a policy under which connection charges are so high that they cannot be borne by the citizens,” he said.
“We can waive the connection charges and extend the benefits of the free water scheme to the residents,” he said. The CM said free water meters should be installed as water is the right of every resident. These residents will now get 20,000 litres of free water every month.
Additionally, the residents would not be required to submit affidavits for the connection any more. The CM said, “Now the residents would only need to submit their ID proof and electricity bill.”
Officials informed the CM that some residential complexes in the NDMC area are also facing problems in availing of the benefit of the free water scheme. They include societies in East Kidwai Nagar and New Moti Bagh which are functioning on a bulk water supply. The officials suggested that water meters be installed near the outlet.
“Residents suffered because the issue was not brought to the council. Therefore, the residents be extended the benefits of the scheme since the day it was implemented by the Jal Board. The officials should implement it as soon as possible,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
A proposal for bolstering cleanliness in the NDMC area was also presented in the meeting. Officials said despite being one of the cleanest sites of Delhi, the area has scope for improvement and some places do not get regular cleaning.
“Connaught Place, Hanuman Mandir and Baba Kharak Singh Marg are famous all over the country. But the cleanliness here is not satisfactory. Mechanical sweeping can be an effective option. We have to ensure that the area gets cleaned as per the best international standards as it is the pride of our country,” the CM said.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was the pay scale arrears of the NDMC employees.
Earlier, the employees used to be paid as per the pay scales of the Delhi Transco Ltd. This practice was discontinued after a while but the employees have since then been firm with their demands of restoration of the pay scales.
Several NDMC employee unions had written to the CM urging him to defer a discussion on the said agenda and instead have discussions with all stakeholders to hear their concerns.
The CM took note of the employees’ grievances and assured them that a meeting with all stakeholders and employee unions would be held, the Government said.
