Owing to non-cooperation from the people, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has decided to scrap its plan of replacing old and corroded water pipelines connecting households. The implementation of this plan has been stuck midway for nearly a year now due to people’s unwillingness to pay their share of amount for the same.
“The plan of replacing damaged service lines couldn’t work because we received a cold response from the people. They were not enthusiastic about paying even the subsidized rate we had offered them. Moreover, many did not agree to get the work started fearing that it would create a mess in their homes and localities,” said Debashree Mukherjee, DJB Chief Executive Officer (CEO). ‘Service lines’ are those water pipelines which connect households from the main supply line.
The scrapping of the project is significant in the wake of the records in the DJB suggest that the second maximum number of complaints received by the agency is for contaminated water.
“Most of our complaints are for leakages. Complaints regarding contaminated water accounts for the next, followed by sewerage and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). If people themselves are negligent then no matter how many initiatives we take, none would help,” said Mukherjee. Speaking of people complaining against dirty water, she added that the agency has ensured proper maintenance of the main water lines from its end. Meanwhile, 85 leakages have been plugged by the body in the past few months, informed Mukherjee. “Active industrial units in residential areas and absence of concrete solid waste management in the Capital corrode water pipelines contributing to water contamination,” said a DJB official, blaming the industries being run in the city.
As per the law, the onus of replacing the old and damaged pipes lies on the individual consumer. Ideally, individuals should change their service water lines once in 15 years to avoid contamination of water due to corrosion and microbial growth.
“As people did not respond to our notices, we had to take charge of the situation. Hence, we decided to change the service pipelines on our own for which half the amount was to be paid by us and half by the consumer. But now, even this initiative did not bear fruitful result,” informed a DJB official. Under the plan, the agency had decided to first start off in vulnerable areas where no proper drainage or sewer system existed.