NEW DELHI: The government has empowered the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) with increased financial autonomy. The DJB will now be able to independently implement high-cost projects, including Yamuna purification, drain water treatment, and improvement of regular drinking water supply, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Saturday.
According to the CM, such projects will no longer require cabinet approvals as the powers of the DJB chairperson, CEO, and other senior officials have also been increased.
Gupta said that the previous government had stripped the DJB of all its financial powers, which brought critical works—like Yamuna cleaning, modern drainage systems, and water supply projects—to a standstill. As a result, the Yamuna remained polluted and Delhiites continued to suffer from irregular water supply.
As per the new system, the DJB has been authorised to sanction all projects with estimated cost spend over `50 crore independently. It can approve higher-budget projects internally. Also, under the revised provisions, the DJB chairperson can approve projects worth up to `50 crore, the CEO up to Rs 25 crore, members (admin/water supply/drainage) up to `5 crore and other senior officers also have enhanced powers.
The CM said that this move will lead to better decision-making at every level of the board and reduce unnecessary delays in execution. She reiterated her government’s objective—to rapidly and effectively clean the Yamuna, treat dirty and foul-smelling drain water through modern systems to prevent further pollution of the river, and improve the capital’s drinking water supply.
She pointed out that for a long time, the Yamuna cleaning plans remained only on paper due to the lengthy approval processes. That bottleneck has now been removed. “Our government is committed to delivering result-oriented governance, not entangling people in paperwork,” the CM said.
Officials said now the sewage treatment plants and desilting plants will be installed rapidly when needed.