New Delhi: As temperatures soar, the issue of water scarcity has come to the fore in several areas of Delhi. The Delhi Jal Board held a high-level meeting today, where the city's water supply management (especially in summer) was discussed.


Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Raghav Chadha held this meeting with chief engineers, senior officers, and members of the Delhi Jal Board on Thursday. The following issues were discussed in the meeting:



  • Equal distribution of water available within Delhi through pipes and tankers

  • Water scarcity and contaminated water at the constituency level

  • Formation of a Rapid Response Team to reduce the complaints received from the MLA and Ward level as well as through social media.


In the meeting, Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman Raghav Chadha said that the roadmap of water supply in the capital should be prepared based on parameters like population and per capita water use. This can help provide relief to maximum people.


"We need to find a way to supply the existing water through a pipe network or an additional tanker for equitable supply. The officials of the Delhi Jal Board need to ensure that the grievances are redressed promptly without any delay," he said.


In the meeting, the members of the Jal Board were instructed that the water supply management in all the 70 constituencies would be reviewed and any lax attitude from the officers won't be tolerated. The review was done on parameters like complaints of dirty water, leakage in water lines, low water pressure, no water supply, wastage of water, etc.


Raghav Chadha said that all the Chief Engineers need to visit their respective areas along with the MLAs of the area. They've been asked to prepare an action plan to solve all the water-related issues and submit weekly reports regarding the ongoing development works in the Vice President's office.


Instructions for daily water analysis


Vice-Chairman Raghav Chadha directed the officials of the Delhi Jal Board to analyse the water received by the Delhi Jal Board every day according to the constituency based on the volume of water received and variance in demand and supply.


Areas that have complaints of dirty water, non-supply, or less supply are to be redressed soon. He also pushed the Chief Engineers and Superintendent Engineers to deploy Rapid Response Teams. These people will prepare special action plans after meeting the MLAs of their area and visiting the sites. These plans will be given to the Jal Board members for verification and further action. With the implementation of this scheme, it is expected that the number of complaints received by DJB will come down.


The meeting also addressed the late arrival of the monsoon and the increasing demand for water. Raghav Chadha also took stock of the installation of flowmeters and directed every Chief Engineer to submit a detailed report according to their field of work. The need for the installation of flow meters in secondary and tertiary tapping was emphasized to monitor the quantity of water supply. Flow meters have been installed at the primary points.


Flow meters are necessary to measure the flow of water from a point. They help in water auditing and minimizing leakage losses. They also reduce the loss of potable water supply and enable efficient management. They can also help detect possible leaks.