As parts of the capital face acute water shortage, Delhi Jal Board today said it has taken steps to bring additional water to the city by next year and this season would be "the last summer of discontent" even as it hinted at a hike in water tariffs.
"The Sonia Vihar water treatment facility in East Delhi will bring in an additional capacity of 140 million gallons per day and this will be the last summer of discontent for at least next 10-15 years," DJB chief P K Tripathi said here.
Considering the costs involved in this project there was likely to be a revision in water tariffs by December this year with the commissioning of the Sonia Vihar Plant.
"I have taken up the tariff issue with the Chief Minister, but it is likely to be implemented by December when we will be in a position to supply more water to the capital," he said at a seminar on 'Water for National Capital Territory'.
Tripathi said the water shortage in the NCT was not due to less supply by the DJB, but because people were becoming more dependant on the water agency.
"Many localities, like Vasant Kunj in south west Delhi, were planned to survive on underground water. It was when the ground water table reduced they turned to DJB for water supply," he said.
