Vice Chairman of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Raghav Chadha on Saturday visited the Palla region and inspected the water augmentation project being carried out by the civic body.
In accordance with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal vision of 24*7 drinking water supply to Delhiites, Chadha pointed out how additional 25MGD water can be extracted in a sustainable manner through this region as extracted groundwater gets recharged automatically during the flood season.
Further, the team also visited an automation center created by DJB to control and monitor all the working of tube wells in the Palla region.
Chadha also stressed upon the need of water auditing and instructed DJB to put flow meters in the complete supply system of the existing 25 MGD as well as for future extraction so that water is not wasted at all.
“In order to bring about overall improvement in the water management system of the board, this additional 25 MGD should be extracted and connected to the main supply to augment the distribution of water in North and North West Delhi,” he said.
Chadha also asked the officials to focus on the fact that DJB should not leave any stone unturned to provide 24*7 uninterrupted water supplies to the citizens of Delhi.
DJB is already extracting 25 MGD water from the Palla region. Further, it is estimated that the work of Installation of 200 tube wells to extract 25 MGD water will be complete in two years. Water extracted will be connected to the main supply to augment water in North and North West Delhi.
Chadha along with the officials also visited the site of Delhi government’s ambitious plan of floodwater harvesting in the floodplains of Delhi. “The project is being executed by ‘Irrigation and Flood Control Department’ and instructed DJB officials to provide all kinds of assistance to make the project a success. The 25 acres of pond with a depth of 1.75 acres was also checked,” he said.
More than 35 piezometers have been installed up to the distance of two kms to study the impact of recharged water during floods.
Chadha said, ‘Many technical committees, researchers and scientists' opinions were brought to the table, believing the fact that this project has the potential to increase the ground water levels which can be extracted during lean season to augment the water supply in the Capital.
Currently, the pilot project is being executed on 25 acres which will be extrapolated to 1000 acres, he said.