Work on Palla project yet to start (Hindistan Times 15 June 2012)

In November 2011, the Delhi Jal Board was informed about a possible source of water for the city. A study conducted by Water and Power Consultancy Services India Limited WAPCOS had identified the floodplains at Palla as a potential source of as much as 60 million gallons a day (MGD) of water for the parched city.

The project, it was pointed out, would yield a substantial quantum of water for the city and would in turn help reduce its dependence on other States and its own depleting ground water reserves.

The Delhi Jal Board was asked to conserve the Palla floodplains and start the process of tapping water from the region that was capable of generating water valued at Rs.3,000 crore a year.

Almost six months later, the DJB is yet to start work on the project that would be a sustainable water supply for Delhi, catering to over a million people, from an extended grid of tube-wells at Palla in the Yamuna floodplains.

Water would be drawn from the floodplains using non-invasive techniques and preliminary results of the study indicated that the floodplain replenishes the water withdrawn in less than a day.

All reports of the feasibility of the project were completed by WAPCOS in January 2012. In February it was decided with the then chief executive officer Ramesh Negi that the DJB will outsource the project including operation and maintenance to WAPCOS. But sources in the DJB said the Board is now trying to modify the conditions of the MoU.

Although the project would have yielded water only by 2013, experts in the field of water management point out that in the face of a growing water crisis and disagreements on water sharing between States, projects such as this should be encouraged and given preference.

When asked about the delay in the implementation of the project, Prof. Vikram Soni, an advisor to the DJB and part of the Palla project, said: “The project is yet to start. There has been some delay in getting the project going and signing the MoU. All the feasibility studies were submitted to the DJB in February. Also, there is a new CEO at DJB, Debashree Mukherjee, who has been apprised about all the aspects of the projects and the DJB is agreed on the worthiness of the project.”

Referring to the yield of water and how it will impact the availability of water in the city, Prof. Soni said: “Even if work on the project is to begin now, we will be able to supply an extra 20-25 MGD to Delhi in about 9-10 months at the beginning of next summer when problems arise.”

“This is a pioneering and very useful project that is being carried out for the first time anywhere in the world. We have worked out the hydrology of the Yamuna floodplain to be sure that it will be ecologically impeccable. It is local, perennial and non-invasive. Furthermore, it has the virtue of having almost a negligible cost compared to any other way of sourcing a new water supply,” said Prof. Soni.

On the delay in the implementation of the project a senior DJB official said: “The project needs to be studied further. We have written to the Delhi Development Authority to allot us land for a water treatment plant and a reservoir to distribute the water. We are in the process of developing the scheme.”

Earlier, the DJB had expressed concerns about the quantum of water that would be drawn from Palla. It said the existing pipelines have a carrying capacity of just 35-40 MGD. “It was found that the existing pipelines for the Palla wells have a total capacity to pump only 35-40 MGD of water. Since the normal pumping flow of 60 MGD would require the installation of new pipelines, which would take much more time, it was recommended by me as , advisor to the DJB, to carry out this project in two phases,” said Prof. Soni.

He had advised the DJB to complete a technical evaluation of each well after which the detailed project report can be given and to refurbish the wells and install a Scada system to make the wells operationally safe and optimum and in the second phase, pipelines with a capacity of 60 MGD should be laid.

Asked if the project can fulfil the need of 20-30 MGD of supply that is being curtailed by Haryana, Prof. Soni replied in the affirmative, “Yes, it can do so easily.”