The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is looking at round-the-clock water supply for all its residents, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also the chairperson of the board, giving the proposal a green light. Advertising The water utility will hire a consultant to study the feasibility of 24-hour water supply in the capital. According to the DJB, creation of district metering areas will be crucial to the decision. A district metering system checks the amount of water being supplied at the entry point. It also checks how much water is supplied to different colonies within the area, letting DJB know if there are leakages and complaints of contamination. Complaints of low pressure can also be checked through the metering area, something that will be crucial to the 24×7 supply plan. As of now, 47% of the 900 million gallons of water treated in Delhi is lost to theft and leakage. Explained Need for checks A special package for District Metering Areas was set aside in last year’s budget. The technology’s biggest advantage is checking water theft — a challenge faced by DJB, especially during summer months. Progress on the project, however, has been slow, putting a spanner in the government’s plan to tackle the private water tanker mafia. This is not the first time that DJB has tried to provide water to citizens at all hours. In 2017, a pilot project was launched in some areas of Malviya Nagar, where water that one could drink from the tap was provided at all hours. The project, however, has not been expanded yet. The decision was taken during the Delhi Jal Board’s 144th board meeting. The board also passed a wetland revival in Timarpur for which NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) has been hired as a consultant. As part of this project, a defunct oxidation pond near Nehru Vihar along outer Ring Road, an area over 40 acres, will be converted into a biodiversity park at a cost of Rs 30 crore, according to a presentation vetted during the meeting. Advertising Oxidation ponds are water bodies that can treat waste water through ecological methods. While the pond measures six acres, a host of recreational facilities will come up in the neighbouring area.

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