Kejriwal writes to Modi, asks Haryana to release enough water to keep Wazirabad pond full

In his letter, Kejriwal said supply of about one-third of the total amount of water needed in the areas that fall under the jurisdiction of the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Central Delhi command was likely to get affected due Haryana’s “reluctance” to keep the Wazirabad pond full.

New Delhi Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to ask Haryana to release the amount of water required to keep the Wazirabad pond filled so as to prevent a water crisis in New Delhi neighbourhoods in the middle of March.

The CM said that his government would make best efforts for water tanker supplies to the NDMC as may be required during that period as rationalisation and diversion from other acute crisis areas of Delhi is not always possible. (HT)

In his letter, Kejriwal said supply of about one-third of the total amount of water needed in the areas that fall under the jurisdiction of the New Delhi Municipal Council and the Central Delhi command was likely to get affected due Haryana’s “reluctance” to keep the Wazirabad pond full.

NDMC officials said they supply 125 million litres per day (MLD) of water in the area. Of the total amount, 120MLD is provided by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

The letter by Kejriwal, who also heads the DJB, read: “This will result in curtailment of (water) supply to the most important areas of Delhi due to suboptimal operation of water treatment plants at Chandrawal and Wazirabad. Water in the river Yamuna will likely deplete or dry up in the middle of March. In this period, Haryana is required to convey water from Tajewala to Delhi via the alternative route of carrier-line channel (CLC) and Delhi sub-branch canal (DSB). The additional 120 cusecs of water is only about 5% of 2,400 cusec water or more which is available at Tajewala.”

The NDMC, which spreads across 42.74 square km, houses residences of one of VIPs, including the President and the Prime Minister. The entire diplomatic area, ministries, residential colonies of government officials, luxury hotels, important hospitals and institutions also fall under the jurisdiction of the NDMC. In the NDMC area, there are 20,000 domestic water connections, 4,000 non-domestic connections, 4,000 bulk connections (mainly given to hotels, institutes, and hospitals) and 15 dhobi ghats.

The CM said that his government would make best efforts for water tanker supplies to the NDMC as may be required during that period as rationalisation and diversion from other acute crisis areas of Delhi is not always possible. “It is requested that efforts may kindly be made from your (PM) office for keeping the Wazirabad pond full by Haryana so that the imminent water crisis in the NDMC area can be averted,” the letter maintained.