‘Water tankers to be equipped with GPS for easy tracking’

Delhiites will soon be able to track the movement of water tankers, including private ones, on a real-time basis as they would be fitted with GPS, the state government has said.

All water tankers will be equipped with GPS within the next 15 days, said a senior government official. The city is heavily dependent on tankers for serving its peak summer water demands. “In order to bring more transparency and improve the quality of service, we have decided to fit GPS in all tankers, including private ones.

“We will make such data available in the public domain so that Delhiites can check the movement of tankers on a real- time basis,” Kapil Mishra, AAP MLA and Delhi Jal Board vice-chairman, said.

The move is aimed at bringing transparency in the delivery of water to DJB consumers even as DJB officials said that the idea is to move eventually to piped water supply and gradually phase out tankers.

According to an estimate, DJB owns 250-odd tankers and, during peak summer, an additional 750 private tankers are also used to supply water across various corners of the city.

“There were reports of our tankers selling water to private operators. With GPS, we will be able to keep a strict watch on their operations,” a DJB official said.

In case of non-delivery of water, consumers may lodge a complaint on the complaint numbers provided on the DJB website.

According to officials, executive engineers designated for specific areas will be asked to share information with local RWAs after a schedule and system is in place to ensure that every consumer has information on water supply.