The Delhi Jal Board, which is courting consumers with the promise of additional water from its soon-to-be-commissioned recycling plants and as largesse from the neighbours, will have to work doubly hard to meet the demands of people in four areas designated as most critical. Najafgarh, Qutub, R.K. Puram and Paschim Vihar/Nangloi have been identified as the most critical areas where the number of discontented consumers has shown a steep increase. Paschim Vihar/Nangloi, where the number of complaints in 2006 was 16,670, the figure rose to a staggering 39,938, a rise of 140 per cent between January and December 2007. Similarly in Qutub the complaints have shown an increase of 106 per cent in the past one year. Najafgarh and R.K. Puram have recorded a 35 and 24 per cent increase in complaints respectively. Total complaints down Even though there has been a reduction of 36 per cent in the overall number of complaints received by the Jal Board, officials acknowledge that there is a need to focus more on these most critical areas of the Capital, which would be monitored on a daily basis. Punitive action "We have decided to enforce more preparedness among the officials. The executive engineers have been briefed to submit certification that water tankers in their areas are road-worthy and that tube-wells and water hydrants are all functioning. There will be close monitoring of all these installations and punitive action will be taken if the certifications are incorrect,' said Delhi Jal Board Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur. Illegal constructions Giving reasons for the sharp increase in complaints in Paschim Vihar/Nagloi, the Board blamed the spiralling population and rise in the number of unauthorised constructions in the area. Non-commissioning of the Nangloi water treatment plant at full capacity and greater public expectation regarding tankers and tube-well availability are the other reasons cited by the Board. For the current year, the Board is banking on rationalising water distribution through commissioning of underground reservoirs, judicious deployment of tankers and special emphasis on manhole cleaning and sewer de-silting in colonies to improve its services. Preventive maintenance Preventive maintenance of water works, underground reservoirs, booster pumping stations and flushing of water mains will be undertaken, increased interaction at different levels with residents' welfare associations and consumers, 25 water emergencies will be activated and headed by senior level nodal officials, trained staff with computers will take down complaints and major leaks would be detected and repaired during the summer of 2008, an official added.