Haryana curtailing Delhi’s water supply, says Chadha

This is not the first time that Delhi has been caught in a face-off with the Haryana government on Delhi’s share of water supply.

elhi Jal Board vice-chairperson Raghav Chadha on Sunday said that Haryana has reduced the supply of raw water to Delhi, pushing the city to a major shortage in water production.

On several occasions last year and earlier this year, Chadha blamed the Haryana government for the increasing levels of ammonia in Delhi’s water, which led to the water treatment plants being forced to operate with reduced capacity and hitting water supply to several areas in the national capital. (ANI)

In a series of tweets, Chadha said currently, Haryana through carrier lined channel (CLC) canal is supplying only 549.16 cusecs (against 683 cusecs) and Delhi sub-branch (DSB) canal is supplying 306.63 cusecs (against 330 cusecs). With the reduction in the supply of raw water, the production at Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants (WTP) has reduced by 30%, and production has gone down by 15% at the Okhla WTP.

Senior DJB officials said that the shortage of raw water at the WTPs might not lead to an immediate impact on the supply, as it takes at least 24 hours for the water from these plants to reach the supply stage. However, if the shortage persists, parts of central and west Delhi will be the worst hit. Water supply to areas such as Janakpuri, Uttam Nagar, Vikaspuri, Mandi House, offices at Barakhamba Road, etc will be severely impacted, they said.

“Haryana has reduced the supply of raw water to Delhi, as a result, we are facing a shortage in water production,” Chadha tweeted.

“...Further, Haryana government’s lackadaisical attitude has led to the unchecked dumping of sewerage into Yamuna. Samples picked up by our quality lab show high contamination/ammonia levels,” he tweeted.

He said on behalf of the DJB, he has reached out to the Haryana government to find a solution to the Capital’s water woes, and also asked the Union ministry of Jal Shakti to intervene in the matter to find a speedy remedy for Delhiites.

“Delhi Jal Board is in constant contact with the Haryana government requesting them to address these issues on a war footing, but to no avail. I urge honourable ministry of jal shakti, government of India to kindly intervene and direct the Haryana govt to release Delhi’s share and curb rising levels of ammonia,” Chadha tweeted.

This is not the first time that Delhi has been caught in a face-off with the Haryana government on Delhi’s share of water supply. On several occasions last year and earlier this year, Chadha blamed the Haryana government for the increasing levels of ammonia in Delhi’s water, which led to the water treatment plants being forced to operate with reduced capacity and hitting water supply to several areas in the national capital.