Sheila asks Jal Board to improve service (The Hindu 14 June 2012)

“Put in extra efforts during next two-three months so that no tangible complaint is received”

Consumers who fall within the Delhi Jal Board's service area and are in the billing net should get water for least an hour-and-a-half every day, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit instructed the water utility on Wednesday. Ms. Dikshit, who is also the Chairperson of the Board, chaired a meeting of the DJB officials, issuing terse instructions to improve the service and focus on equitable distribution of water.

The meeting comes in the wake of a surge in complaints about the quantity and the quality of water from across the city.

“The Chief Minister asked the Jal Board officials, particularly the chief engineers to concentrate on ensuring equitable supply of drinking water across Delhi. They were also instructed to ensure supply of drinking water for a period of one and half hour in all localities coming under the network of the DJB piped water supply,” said an official of the Delhi Government.

In an attempt to placate consumers who have been protesting against the reduction in supply and complaining against the quality of water, the Chief Minister has asked for daily monitoring of the samples, putting out the results in the public domain and ensuring that tankers are available for areas with no supply.

“Ms. Dikshit said supply of water is crucial, keeping in view the extreme summer season. No one should be deprived of drinking water. She stressed the need for immediate complaint redress and directed that all complaint offices must be manned by senior-most officers round the clock,” the official said.

Taking note of the complaints about the non-availability of tankers and the problems faced by consumers who have to purchase more expensive water from private tankers in the absence of water from the DJB, Ms. Dikshit has asked the Jal Board officials to speed up on the installation of GPS facility on tankers.

She also asked the officials to supervise tanker system to ensure that tankers are available on specified routes and on specific time. “She said there should be zero tolerance on diversion of tankers. Any violation of scheduled timeframe of deployment of tankers should not be tolerated and the employees responsible for the digressions should be straightway dismissed. Ms. Dikshit said consumers who have not been getting water supply have every right to call for the tanker and the DJB is morally bound to ensure supply through tankers immediately,” the official said.

The Chief Minister, who has been at the receiving end of consumer's indignation over poor water supply and quality, has also asked the DJB officials to put in “extra efforts during next two-three months” so that “no tangible complaint” is received.

The Jal Board has been asked to come out with the test results of water quality everyday. “She felt it is the need of the hour to disseminate figures related to samples tested in the labs to establish the quality of drinking water and that it is fit for drinking,” the official said. The DJB must work to set up a benchmark to prove its competence of providing drinking water to all citizens in the city, the Chief Minister said.

The Jal Board has been asked to ensure the complete operation of water treatment plants and recycling plants for the maximum generation of water. Officials have been asked to crack the whip against illegal tapping and to disconnect illegal connections. “The CM asked the officials to take action against illegal tapping and take the help of police wherever necessary. They have been asked to keep the local MLAs and Councillors informed. Chief engineers have also been asked to inspect underground reservoirs and tanker filling stations on a daily basis,” the official said.

The Chief Minister has also instructed to streamline the revenue management system and sort out discrepancies in bills being issued.

The power distribution companies have been asked to provide power through alternative sources to all WTPs if needed.

Residents cry for water, Delhi Jal Board in no hurry to respond (Times of India 13 June 2012)

NEW DELHI: Ruma Roy has spent Rs 6,000 on purchasing water from private tankers in the past one month and a half. Her house in south Delhi's Gulmohar Park has been getting Delhi Jal Board supply only once a week, if she is "lucky". DJB has neither responded to calls for tankers nor explained why the problem persists.
Roy is among thousands of Delhiites who have been facing water problems for an extended period of time for no ostensible reason. One day out of the blue the supply was disrupted and has not been restored since then. In Vasant Vihar's block F-8, there has been no water since the past two months. Repeated complaints to DJB have yielded a site visit or two by officials but no remedy has been found.
"If there is a problem at our end, we are willing to have it sorted out. However, whenever DJB staff does come, they say nothing except that the problem will be looked into. We have spent more than two months like this. Someone said we are at the tail-end of the supply line but some houses are getting water while others are not. There is obviously some other issue," said a resident of F-8 block.
In Ashok Vihar, residents have been complaining of contaminated water supply since November 2011 but there has been no improvement in their water so far. PL Sharma, a resident of B-block says that people waste a huge amount of water each day by letting the contaminated water flow away.
"On one hand there is a shortage of water. On the other, while we are getting a proper supply at least once a day, we cannot use the water since it is so filthy. It's also become routine for the supply to not come at all sometimes. We have complained to DJB but nothing has been done," he says.
The Jal Board has faced some problems in the past two weeks over its water supply but officials say that distribution is actually much better at present than it has ever been. Except, for various odd reasons, several of which can be attributed to an old system of pipes that sprout leaks and have been victim to illegal tapping, many parts of the city are facing a huge crisis.
"DJB probably needs to go back to its overhead tank system. The present system of underground reservoirs requires too much power and the pressure of water being supplied is just not sufficient in areas that are even slightly away. In our colony, supply comes once between 3.30am and 6.30am. Every third day the supply is disrupted," said Rajiv Kakria, a resident of GK-I.
These are residents of authorized colonies. In several unauthorized areas and slums, water is supplied either exclusively through tankers or through borewells. In water samples picked up from 20 slums in southwest and west Delhi, high levels of e-coli contamination have been detected in most groundwater samples. Nahida, a middle-aged woman living in west Delhi's Darbhanga slum, says, "This is the water that was supplied in the slum two days back through the DJB pipeline. We had to let the water sit for a while so that the sediments settled down and then boil the water before drinking it. We have a tubewell too but the water is so dirty that we use it only for washing," she says.

Board draws master plan, will bank on reservoirs (Times of India 13 June 2012)

NEW DELHI: The capital is largely dependent on its neighbours for water, its other source being groundwater, the levels of which have gone down drastically in the past few years. Water utility Delhi Jal Board says that major progress has been made in distribution of water but if supply itself is curtailed, then rationalizing is their only option.
Reacting on Haryana's refusal to part with 80 million gallons of water per day through the Munak canal, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said, "The group of ministers has not given its report yet but we are entitled to our due. If nothing else works, we will be forced to go to the prime minister for help."
Haryana recently curtailed supply to Delhi by 12-15 MGD because of which several south Delhi colonies were affected. On Saturday, a major pipe collapse in Mukarba Chowk led to further disruption in south Delhi and NDMC areas.Power failures at treatment plants also saw disruption in supply for a day or so. A power cut of even 15 minutes would mean that a one-time supply to some area would have to be minimized, say officials. Munak canal and Renuka Dam are major projects on which Delhi was dependent but there is no clarity on when water from them will be available.
"Delhi's biggest problem is its growing population and limited infrastructure. We have a limited supply of water and are trying our best to ration it out. Against an ideal supply of 135 litres per capita per day, residents are getting an average of 229 lpcd. There are huge variations in supply but our system of underground reservoirs will help sort this out," said a senior official.
Officials say several measures have been put in place to ease the situation and water and sewage masterplans have been prepared to ensure equitable supply to the city. "Our infrastructure is old and is being replaced at war-footing. We are losing around 25% water through leakages and illegal tapping. We want private companies to take over management of water supply so that efficiency is brought into the system. DJB will continue to remain the owner of the infrastructure and private companies will be answerable to us," said an official.

City at mercy of tanker mafia (Times of India 13 June 2012)

New Delhi: A water-starved city is the best place for water tankers to thrive.Delhi has a parallel water supply industry operating along with Delhi Jal Board that promises supply but charges anywhere between Rs 400 and Rs 800 for 1,000 litres.Often,DJB water meant for free supply to residents is sold to either private operators or to consumers.
Despite some massive crackdown operations,the water mafia continues to hound Delhiites.Some cases of DJB officials being involved in selling and distribution of water through private tankers have also come to light.We are taking strict action against any complaint of malpractice.However,DJB can only control its own tankers.There are thousands of others operating privately that are beyond our purview, said an official.
Residents often complain that in the absence of any response from DJB in the time of water shortage,they often have to rely on private supply.In our area,DJB takes bookings for tankers only when we go to their office.Even then they take their own time to send water.In that case,one usually has to purchase water from private operators for Rs 400-600 per 1,000 litres.As demand goes up,so do their charges, said PD Vashisht,a resident of C-2 Vasant Kunj.
Local administration too has its hands full dealing with illegal extraction of groundwater.In south and southwest Delhi,the problem of illegal water extraction is huge.It interferes with DJBs pumps as they go dry.The government has tried to crack down on these activities but often gets no aid from police and other agencies, said an official.

llegal mining on despite stay by SC Police Intensify Hunt For Mining Contractor (Times of India 13 June 2012)

Faridabad: Police here have intensified their search for the contractor Rajpal Chauhan who has been absconding since Monday morning when the driver of his truck ran over a constable at a check post at Palla in Faridabad. A case of murder was registered against Chauhan after his driver Pappu claimed he had acted under orders. The accused had driven up to the Delhi border along with the truck that was carrying sand mined illegally from the Yamuna bed, but fled on seeing Pappu caught by the police.
    Faridabad police said they had formed several teams to nab Chauhan. The Sarai Khawaja police station, which is investigating the case, reported that two teams were raiding Chauhan’s likely hideouts and residences of his acquaintances in Faridabad. Another team has been sent to Chauhan’s hometown Alwar in Rajasthan. Chauhan has lived in Sector 30, Faridabad for the last seven years. His family is being questioned and his mobile phones have been put under surveillance.
    Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Tuesday announced ex-gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the next of kin of the killed constable, Mahabir Singh (46). Hooda said the guilty would be punished severely so that such incidents do not occur again. Haryana DGP Ranjiv Dalal also announced a compensatory job for a member of the constable’s family. The deceased is survived by his wife and two children who are studying in Rohtak.
    Sources said Chauhan has at least one more dumper that he uses to transport illegally mined sand. “He has been active in the Palla area for the last five years but we are yet to find any criminal case against him,’’ said the investigating officer of the case.

BRAZEN VIOLATION: Illegal mining in progress in Faridabad