As Delhi continues to witness "grim" water situation, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday said her government planned to enact a law for regulated use of ground water and levy cess as per unit area system to check "irrational" use of the precious resource.
She said water consumption in Delhi was among the highest in the country with daily requirement of 828 million gallons per day against the supply of about 660 MGD per day.
"Forty per cent of water is lost due to leakages in the supply system. We, therefore, need a cohesive and effective response to tackle this," Dikshit said at a seminar on 'Water conservation -- Sustainable solutions to save Delhi from a water crisis'.
She said the government planned to implement the Unit Area System for water cess according to which citizens would be charged according to the capacity to pay.
"There are certain areas which receive excess water whereas other get bare minimum. This flaw will also be curbed," Dikshit said.
Stating that the government alone could not mitigate the water woes of the capital, she favoured a "responsible role" of the public in water management and water harvesting to bring about the "blue revolution".
{{/usCountry}}Stating that the government alone could not mitigate the water woes of the capital, she favoured a "responsible role" of the public in water management and water harvesting to bring about the "blue revolution".
{{/usCountry}}Delhi Jal Board CEO P K Tripathi termed the water situation as "grim" and said the water table in the capital is dropping at an "alarming rate" and a "sense of urgency is required to ward off the impending crisis."
Leaking pipes upto 1000 kms have been changed, saving 28 MGD water in four months only, he said, adding this work will continue.