Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday instructed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials to modernise the city’s four water treatment plants (WTPs) and find a “permanent solution” to remove contaminants. For this, he said, authorities should develop a time-bound comprehensive plan, according to an official statement issued after a review meeting chaired by the Chief Minister.
He also stressed upon officials that the “presence of dirty water in any part of Delhi should be completely eradicated”, it said. In the meeting, which was attended by Water Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, DJB vice chairperson Somnath Bharti and senior officials of the Board, Kejriwal expressing concern over the issue of contamination of supply water, reiterated that a “permanent solution” to the problem should be found.
Stressing on the need for modernisation of the treatment plants, he directed officials to take immediate action to upgrade filters to ensure clean water to people. These plants currently suffer from excessive turbidity and their upgrade is crucial to meet quality standards, he noted.
“If ammonia is identified as the source of contamination, swift measures will be taken to eliminate it, including thorough pipeline inspections,” the chief minister said. Contamination of water because of pipelines must be “promptly addressed, and if necessary, replacement should be undertaken”, Kejriwal said during the meeting.
The chief minister noted that there were complaints about ammonia contamination in several tube wells and said resolving these issues has to be a priority, the statement said. He instructed the DJB to tackle localised ammonia contamination concerns through comprehensive measures and a detailed action plan, it said.
“Furthermore, areas experiencing nitrate-related complaints should get nitrate removal systems to ensure safe drinking water,” Kejriwal said. He said ammonia removal plants are being installed to effectively tackle contamination and added that four non-operational plants would be working within the next two to two and a half months.
In the meeting, officials informed the chief minister that necessary permissions have been obtained for installing tube wells at 400 locations. On the tube wells project, the statement said in the first phase, the installation of 450 tube wells will result in a 70 million gallons per day (MGD) increase in water capacity within the next six months. Following the installation of these tube wells, the total water capacity of Delhi will rise to 1,060 MGD, it said.