<p>Status report on behalf of Government of NCT of Delhi in the matter of Pritipal Sharma Vs NCT of Delhi & Others dated 15/04/2024.</p> <p>The matter related to regulation of borewells in Delhi.
Haryana continues to withhold city's share of drinking water Water production in two of the Capital's water treatment plants has also come down "We are hoping the CWC will get Haryana to release more water to our demand' NEW DELHI: There is no let-up in Delhi's water crisis as Haryana continues to withhold the city's share of drinking water. The water production in two of the Capital's water treatment plants has also come down, affecting large parts of North and Central Delhi. While production at Chandrawal on Monday came down by 30 per cent, the reduction at Wazirabad is almost 50 per cent. "Despite our repeated reminders and requests, Haryana has refused to release our full share of water. We have reduced water production at both the plants to maintain the critical pond level at Wazirabad,' said a Delhi Jal Board official. He said the Board had again urged the Central Water Commission to intervene. "We are hoping the CWC will get Haryana to release more water to meet our drinking water needs.' In the absence of the required quantum of water, several parts of the NDMC area including residences of VIPs and some parts of North Delhi including Model Town, Civil Lines and Kingsway Camp have been experiencing water shortage. Referring to the water crisis, Jal Board's Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur said: "Even if Haryana is getting less water from Bhakra Beas Management Board, it cannot arbitrarily cut Delhi's share. The water sharing agreement does not give them the discretion to reduce the quantity meant for the Capital.' He said taking note of the impending summer, the Board is prepared to bring the issue to the notice of the "highest authorities' and the Chief Minister too has expressed concern over Haryana's refusal to stick to the water sharing agreement. "The Chief Minister has made it clear that the issue will be taken to the highest levels. She said the Delhi Government would do whatever is required to secure Delhi's share from the Yamuna waters,' Mr. Mathur added.
The water crisis that has been plaguing the Capital since last Friday is threatening to get worse. Several parts of north, northwest Delhi and NDMC areas have been getting a highly erratic supply and authorities see no respite from the situation till the end of this week at least. The matter has been taken to the Upper Yamuna River Board and chief minister Sheila Dikshit will take up the issue with authorities concerned if the situation doesn't improve soon. The 120 million gallon per day (MGD) Wazirabad plant and the 90 MGD Chandrawal plant are working to only about 70% of their capacity as Haryana, claim Delhi Jal Board officials, has reduced supply to the Capital from 300 MGD to about 250 MGD.
A group of residents of Marathi Ward, Zuarinagar, confronted officials at the PWD office in Baina on Monday, to complain about the erratic water supply for the last 20 days. Accompanied by local Panch Nilesh Dalvi, the residents confronted Assistant Engineer (AE) M S Kunju and demanded immediate water supply to the affected areas. While threatening to damage the main pipeline, which supplies water to the entire Zuarinagar, the residents have warned an agitation at the Margao PWD office, if authorities failed to restore regular water supply within a specified time. Anticipating the tension situation in the office, Mr Kunju asked Dalvi and a junior officer to accompany him to identify the area affected by irregular water supply. After inspecting the pipeline, which connects the particular area, Mr Kunju assured the crowd that regular water supply would be restored within a week. Mr Dalvi alleged that two PWD tankers, allotted to the area, were seen providing water to the hotel lobby and other influential colonies. Mr Kunju explained that the shortfall in water supply was due to augmentation work at the Salaulim water plant, the altitude of the affected area and the increase in new water connections. He pointed out that the situation was worse last year and the installation of two high capacity pumps had solved the problem to a large extent this year. Refuting these claims, Mr Dalvi sought to know how influential colonies and establishments were provided with regular water supply in the same geographic location.
The Delhi government is planning to go to the Supreme Court to seek a direction to the Haryana government for releasing adequate water from Tajewala so that the Yamuna reaches an optimum level in the national Capital. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that neighbouring state governments were aware of Delhi's problem. Thousands of people come from various states. There is pressure of civic amenities and water supply of the Capital. Still some times Uttar Pradesh reduces water supply to Sonia Vihar and some times Haryana. Now the government will approach the Supreme Court to get its share of water, she said. Two water treatment plants
Frazzled by the frequent disruptions in the supply of water meant for the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants the Centre to step in and ensure that Haryana sticks to the terms of water sharing agreement signed by the two States. Delhi and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters and the recurrent reduction in the city's share over the past few months has brought matters to a boil. Options DJB officials say with most options already exhausted, the Board is now exploring the possibility of getting the Centre to establish a central monitoring mechanism that will act as a referee. "Our officials have been communicating with their counterparts in Haryana, we have already brought the issue to the attention of the Chief Secretary Haryana, written to the Central Water Commission and the Upper Yamuna River Board and even sent a legal notice with regard to the violation of agreement on providing water for the Nangloi plant,' said Arun Mathur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board. A central monitoring mechanism he explained "would help in keeping a check on the flow of water between Haryana and Delhi.' "A neutral party that will keep an eye on the sharing of water will be able to alert both the States as soon as it observes a dip in the water levels of the Yamuna. We are only asking Haryana to abide by the agreement that has been signed and give Delhi its legitimate share of water,' he said. Mr. Mathur said while the Board is hopeful of getting Haryana to release the scheduled quantum of water, it wants to rule out any possibility of water shortage during the coming summer months. VIP areas Many parts of the city including the VIP areas have been witnessing water shortage for the past few days. Production of water at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants has reduced following a cut in the water supplied by Haryana.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, has written to Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz drawing his attention to the Capital's water woes and demanding proper allocation of the Yamuna waters. He has urged the Union Minister to convene a meeting of the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments to discuss the issue of water sharing and to evolve a strategy to ensure that all States get their allocated share. Referring to the 1994 agreement on water sharing among Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, and the decision to construct a pucca canal for carrying water from Haryana to Delhi, the BJP leader said the Congress Government had failed to ensure timely construction of that canal. "The Delhi Government was directed to get the pucca Munak canal constructed, through which water would reach Delhi from Tajewala. It is a matter of concern that in spite of the lapse of 12 years the canal has not been constructed,' the letter stated. Pointing out that almost a third of Delhi is deprived of potable water today, Prof. Mukhi said the recent reduction in water supply had compounded the woes of the people. Cautioning that the ground water level in the Capital was fast depleting, Prof. Mukhi said at some places the level had reached a precarious stage. Seeking Prof. Soz's intervention, Prof. Mukhi said the Centre should find a solution to the water crisis in the Capital, which had become a perennial problem. The letter also referred to the flow of sewage into the Yamuna, which is making the process of river cleaning impossible despite a huge amount of money being spent on the cleaning works.
Rapid urbanization causes disorganized and uplanned growth of towns and cities. The pressure of an ever growing population becomes a burden on the limited civic amenities which are virtually collapsing. Asymmetrical growth of urban centres consumes agricultural land adjacent to these, resulting in lower agricultural productivity.
Haryana has cut the supply from 600 cusecs to 500 cusecs from February 15 It has badly affected Central Delhi that houses VIPs including the President and the PM Water production at Chandrawal and Wazirabad plants has come down by 20 to 30 per cent NEW DELHI: Water woes have re-surfaced in the Capital with Haryana slashing the supply by about 100 cusecs. The reduction in water being released for Delhi has badly affected the New Delhi Municipal Council areas that house residences of VIPs, including the President and the Prime Minister. According to Delhi Jal Board sources, Haryana has cut the supply of water from 600 cusecs to 500 cusecs from February 15. Consequently the minimum level of water in the Yamuna has fallen to 673 metres from the mandatory 674.5 metres. Sources have also said the production of water at the Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants had come down by 20 to 30 per cent. "Production of water has been affected in the Chandrawal plant, which has on its command area the VIP areas and large parts of Central Delhi. To mitigate the effect and ensure there is equitable supply of water, we have reduced production of water at Wazirabad,' said a Delhi Jal Board official. Blaming Haryana for reducing the supply of water "without any prior intimation', the official said: "We have been issuing communiqu
For years, residents in Khadki have been facing severe shortage of water. And the situation shows no sign of improving. Civic activists say both the Pune Municipal Corporation and the Khadki Cantonment Board have been passing the buck while doing little to improve water scarcity situation. Compounding the citizens woes, the water being supplied to some inner areas of Khadki is allegedly contaminated. Yuvraj Jain, a resident of Juna bazaar, says people have been affected by jaundice due to contamination of water during the early showers last year. "We get water supply only for 15 minutes daily and then it stops. How are we supposed to store it for the entire day?' says Kulsumbi Maniyar, a resident of Khadki bazaar. The Ram mandir area, Mangalya Society, Gadi Adda, and Depotline are some of the areas affected by water shortage. Also, drinking water is getting mixed with drainage water. According to Santosh Gayakwad, junior engineer from Holkar Water Supply centre, Khadki, "Drinking water gets mixed with polluted water due to unauthorised pipelines drawn underground. This is done at night so that nobody notices it.' When contacted, a KCB official said water supply is not under the board's control. He however said water tankers are ensuring that residents get their daily quota. PMC deputy city engineer Anil Talathi declined to comment on the issue.
The Purni Drinking Water Supply Scheme has been a cause of concern for the people of Purni village under Golakganj LAC of Dhubri district. According to sources, the purni drinking water supply scheme which was launched 21 years ago with 29 taps. After its installation, it properly functioned for several years, but due to the lackadaisical attitude of the PHE department, the scheme has virtually become nonexistent. The people of the area have been deprived of potable water for a long time. Due to the lack of timely repair, lack of sand supply, lack of diesel supply and nonpayment of electricity bills the supply of potable water became irregular for which the taps remained nonfunctional and the pipes were also stolen away by some miscreants. The two diesel engines have also been reportedly stolen away. The filtration chamber too is lying abandoned. It is to be recalled here that in absence of the PHE workers, the doors and windows of the residence have also been taken away by some miscreants besides many other materials of th PHE. People have urged the authorities concerned to repair the potable water supply scheme earlier so that the villagers are benefited by the scheme, sources added.
