2 YEARS ON, AAP RECOUNTS WATER SUCCESS STORY
NEW DELHI: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday released a report card on the achievements of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) during the past two years and said the AAP government removed political influence in supply of drinking water in the Capital.
Sisodia said political groups used to operate tanker mafias in the city for their own benefit while people would suffer.
“We not only improved water supply here but also removed the political influence in supply of drinking water. We put an end to politics on water,” Sisodia said. “I congratulate DJB for its achievements in the last two years. The Board has been able to keep political influence away from its initiatives unlike how it used to be before we came to power,” Sisodia added.
The Deputy CM said that the government aims to improve quality of water to the extent in Delhi that people can have quality water flowing through taps. “We have already started working towards this and we guarantee its implementation in next two years,” Sisodia said.
Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra, while listing his department’s achievements, said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government not only provided free water up to 20,000 litres per month to the public but also earned profit of Rs 178 crore by reducing corruption in the department. “In last two years, we reduced the water bill rates and also reduced the rates for new water connections. With reduced connection rates, there has been a drastic increase in water connections in various colonies of the city,” the minister said. Mishra said that vast network of piped water supply was developed in the last two years due to which water reached the areas where people were dependent on tanker water supply. He said that during the last two years, 633 kms of new water pipelines have been laid and 311 kms of old and rusted water lines have been replaced to improve water supply and avoid contamination. “We aim to give water Pipelines to all colonies in Delhi by the end of this year. Water supply in 309 unauthorised colonies was started in the last two years and sewer lines were laid in 33 colonies,” Mishra said. He underlined that the DJB has “historically” reduced the water bills and increased its revenue through various schemes like “Bill Maafi”.
“We have added 250 water tankers in our network. We are also attaching GPS to the tankers for their tracking. The Board’s ‘mseva’ app has helped build trust between the citizens and the Delhi government where people make and clear their own bills.” Mishra added: “We aim to make Delhi least dependent on water supply through tankers which will be done by the end of this year. We are mulling to provided piped water supply throughout Delhi by December this year.”