Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was conspicuous by his absence on the first day at office after taking charge, but he more than made up for it by delivering on the first promise made by the AAP to provide 700 litres of water per household per day free. Kejriwal, who is ailing and on intravenous fluids, convened a meeting of the Delhi Jal Board at his residence in suburb Kaushambi, and made a decision in this regard.
Kejriwal, who did not attend office at the Delhi Secretariat, made up for it by holding back-to-back meetings at his residence. On his illness, Kejriwal tweeted, “It was so important to attend office today. We had planned the water announcement. God bahut galat time par bimaar kiya (I have fallen ill at the wrong time.)”
Soon after the meeting, Jal Board CEO Vijay Kumar announced that people having working meters in their residence will get 20,000 litres of water free-of-cost per month. In other words, each house will get almost 667 litres of free water each day. Households that use more than 20,000 litres would have to pay the bill in full. The bill would include all charges like water cess, sewerage services charge etc. Kumar announced that the new scheme would be implemented in the national capital starting January 1, and the decision has been made for a period of three months till March 31.
Congress party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit said even now the subsidy for 20,000 litres of water supply is 90 per cent. The issue is not providing 700 litres of water free, the issue is to provide water to everybody, he said. The AAP has said in its announcement earlier that more than 50 per cent of Delhiites do not get water, and hence their priority should be to provide water to these people.
Meanwhile, in one of the highest such compensations, Kejriwal granted Rs.1 crore financial assistance to the family of a Delhi Police constable who was allegedly beaten to death by suspected liquor mafia in South Delhi. Kejriwal said the government will provide all possible help to the family beside the compensation.