7. STOP WATER MAFIA

7.

 STOP WATER MAFIA

Delhi has been facing serious water problem since many years. Many areas in Delhi do not even have pipe lines to their houses. Almost 7 lakh households (20% of Delhi’s households) are not linked to the water grid.  Tankers are the only means of supply of water in these areas. People have to wait for one whole week without water supply.

Due to water shortage, tanker mafia is on the rampage in these areas. Even in most affluent parts of the city, people get just two hours of water supply. The tanker owners charge several times multiple of the average water tariff in Delhi. People say that the mafia is running in collusion with the Congress politicians. AAP promised to prosecute the ministers who protect and promote the tanker mafia.

The main source of water to Delhi is from Yamuna River, which is facing serious pollution problems. Supreme Court did take up the issue and cleaning process is going on. The affluent sections of the city do depend upon the underground water. But underground water is not inexhaustible. Rampant construction activity has contaminated the underground water with cement, paint and other construction materials. Badly constructed and badly maintained sewage lines have added to the problem of contamination.

The Congress government is planning to privatise water in Delhi and other parts of India. If it succeeds in this plan, water will become costlier. Water is the basic need of each and every citizen and hence it must not be privatized. Privatization of water is inhuman and unconstitutional. AAP is against privatization of water.

There is an unholy nexus between the private tanker operators and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials. This is the real reason behind the major water problem in Delhi. DJB tanker nexus is one of Delhi’s most urban legends. The DJB officials take a cut from the earnings of the private tanker mafia, which makes a huge profit by exploiting the people who are suffering due to the water shortage. People get ready to pay any amount since water tankers appear only once a week. The water scarcity is created purposely by the DJB officials. AAP promised to restructure DJB to put a stop to the rampant corruption.

The Asiad Village in Delhi has around 853 flats out of which many are owned by high ranking government officials. Some of them manage to get water from DJB on daily basis but others have to depend on over priced private water tankers. If the people complain to the DJB, they are attended to only after 3 or 4 days and that too only after their hands are greased.  

AAP had vowed to put all those involved in water mafia behind bars.

Water laboratories will be opened in various places to check the contamination of water. Mohalla sabhas will play a role in the local distribution of water.

Transparency will be brought to DJB’s water supply arrangements. Bulk water meters will be installed to get data on incoming and outgoing water.

DJB is right now not supplying water to slums because of which they have to depend upon the water tankers. AAP will see to it that DJB will supply water to each and every citizen of Delhi.

Long term and sustained water policies will be thought of since Delhi does not have its own water source. Incentives and subsidies will be provided to encourage recycling of waste water from kitchen and bathroom. Rain water will be utilized through good water harvesting policies. Delhi’s water bodies will be revived.

All localities and houses will be connected to sewage network to ensure that no untreated sewage will enter Yamuna. Further encroachment and construction on Yamuna river bed will be prevented.

WORK DONE IN DELHI REGARDING STOPPING OF WATER MAFIA

The AAP government in Delhi announced that 20 thousand litres of free water will be supplied to every household that has a water meter in working condition from Jan 1, 2014. Those people whose consumption is above 20 thousand litres per month will be charged for the entire usage.

The CEO of Delhi Jal Board Debashree Mukherjee was transferred since she was against providing free water and Vijay Kumar was appointed in her place.

As soon as AAP took over the Delhi government, 800 people from DJB’s staff were transferred in one day because there were many complaints against them.

A DJB special task force was formed under Additional CEO of DJB, Nandini Paliwal, together with 5 engineers and one deputy director. This force was formed to find out discrepancies in distribution of water by DJP due to water mafia.

In its effort to root out water mafia AAP made the DJB’s special task force to carry out a massive operation in some areas of Delhi. The task force received information about many illegally dug tube wells on public land which were supplying water at an exorbitant rate. Such tube wells were immediately taken over by the DJB with the help of Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of South District. The electric connections of private operators were removed and new connections were obtained from BSES for operating these tube wells.

AAP opposed the privatisation of the Delhi Jal Board re-affirmed its commitment to State’s responsibility to provide clean water to every home in Delhi.