Chandrawal water treatment plant work likely to begin this year: CM

The state-of-the-art ₹599 crore plant, which will have a capacity of 105 million gallons per day, is designed to serve approximately 11% of Delhi’s population. It is being constructed at Chandrawal near Civil Lines in north Delhi and will cover an area of approximately 92 square kilometres – or 6.2% of Delhi’s total geographical area.

Chief minister Rekha Gupta announced on Monday that the Chandrawal water treatment plant (WTP), a project approved over a decade ago, is expected to be commissioned this year.

The announcement was made after Gupta chaired a review meeting on Monday (PTI)

The announcement was made after Gupta chaired a review meeting of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) at the Delhi Secretariat on Monday.

The state-of-the-art ₹599 crore plant, which will have a capacity of 105 million gallons per day, is designed to serve approximately 11% of Delhi’s population. It is being constructed at Chandrawal near Civil Lines in north Delhi and will cover an area of approximately 92 square kilometres – or 6.2% of Delhi’s total geographical area.

CM Gupta said during the meeting the plant would significantly strengthen Delhi’s water supply infrastructure, according to officials aware of the meeting’s details. The meeting was also attended by the water minister Parvesh Verma, along with senior DJB officials.

The project is expected to strengthen water supply and pressure in several densely populated areas in the city such as Model Town, Sadar Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Matia Mahal, Ballimaran, Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Rajinder Nagar and RK Puram. These areas, the officials cited above said, have long been facing issues related to water availability and pressure.

Originally approved in 2012, the project faced prolonged delays due to tender cancellations and non-compliance with guidelines of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which is assisting in the project, resulting in cost escalations of nearly ₹400 crore.

In addition to the treatment plant, a parallel pipeline replacement project costing ₹1,331 crore is underway. New distribution networks are being laid across nine constituencies covering key localities such as Karol Bagh, Civil Lines, Kamla Nagar, Malka Ganj, Shadipur, Patel Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Naraina, Zakhira, New Rajendra Nagar, Hindu Rao, Idgah, Jhandewalan, Ridge Road, Ramlila Ground and Subhash Park to reduce leakage and contamination.

Officials stated the overall target is to reduce non-revenue water from 30-45% to below 15% within three years.

The integrated project includes strengthening underground reservoirs, installing water meters, and establishing grievance redressal centres.