New Delhi: Delhi government will ensure equitable water supply in all Assembly constituencies based on their population, Water minister Parvesh Verma said on Thursday, after a DJB survey flagged disparities in supply to different areas.
According to the survey of 70 Assembly constituencies in the national Capital, conducted by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), there were many areas with higher population where supply was less while some other areas with less population were getting more water.
The survey report showed that Karawal Nagar with a population of 5 lakh is receiving 4.7 million gallons per day (MGD) of water, meaning 42.73 litres per capita per day supply. Similarly, Badli, with 5.5 lakh population receives, 6.5 MGD or 53.73 litre per capita per day water. Kirari constituency having a population of 6.6 lakh receives 8.5 MGD or 58.55 litre per capita per day water, and Burari with 9 lakh population receives 12.5 MGD or 63.14 litre per capita per day water, the report stated.
On the contrary, there were many Assembly constituencies with less population and higher water supply, including Rohini, Matia Mahal, Chandni Chowk, Rajendra Nagar among others.
Rohini which has a population of 2.75 lakh receives a daily supply of 13.73 MGD or 227.3 litre per capita, likewise Matia Mahal with a population of 2.58 lakh receives 12.3 MGD or 216.73 litre per capita per day.
Similar is the case with Chandni Chowk, with a population of 2.10 lakh, it receives 9.9 MGD or 214.31 litre per capita per day supply. Rajinder Nagar with 2.4 lakh population also receives 10.6 MGD or 200.78 litre per capita per day water, the survey showed.
Verma said he received many complaints regarding the water supply issues and directed for a survey to find out the share of water in each constituency.
“This supply pattern was established during the previous government in Delhi. The new BJP government in Delhi is changing this and
ensuring that each area of the city receives water supply according to its population,” the minister told reporters.
He said that the command centres of the DJB will maintain equity in water supply based on population of each constituency. They will send water produced after treatment to underground reservoirs in different areas.
Officials said that the supply mismatch took place because of pressure from the MLAs to release more water to their areas.
“There is no way any pressure will be tolerated now and each constituency will receive water as per the need of its population,” Verma asserted.
Verma said after he took charge, he directed the officials to take stringent action against illegal tapping in main lines of the DJB pipeline network in the city. “So, far 100 illegal tapping points through mainlines have been found and action taken against some powerful people involved in it. This way, stealing of nearly 30-40 MGD of water per day, has now been stopped,” said the minister.
The national capital being a landlocked city, depends largely on raw river water supply from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and groundwater extraction. The Delhi Jal Board has around 27 lakh registered consumers.
Delhi relies on the memorandum of understanding signed in 1994 among the five basin states — Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh — for allocation of the Yamuna surface water. Since 2020, water production has risen from an average of 927 MGD to 990-1,000 MGD in 2024; however, the volume of water actually supplied to homes remains an issue.