NEW DELHI: To fix the water woes faced by the citizens of Delhi, the state government will hire a private consultant which will help in better management of water supply in Delhi.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said this will pave way for fulfilling the promise of 24-hour water supply made by his party during assembly elections.
However, the BJP and Congress in the opposition condemned this move of the Aam Aadmi Party government, accusing it as an act of “privatisation” of Delhi Jal Board. Kejriwal said this step was taken with the aim of enhancing water availability in the city to the standards of those avaialble in world-class cities like London, Tokyo and Paris.
“We have decided to appoint a consultant in Delhi who will suggest measures to ensure the provision of 24x7 water to every household in Delhi. The process got a bit delayed due to corona, otherwise, the process would have been completed in March or April” said Kejriwal.
According to the government, sufficient amount of water is available in the city, but a lot of it is unaccounted for due to leakages or pilferages. “The consultant that we are hiring, will tell us how to rectify the water management system in Delhi and ensure accountability and no wastage of water in the national capital,” the CM added.
In order to increase water supply, the government will also talk to authrities of states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Himachal who currently have excess water supply.
Criticising the move, Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said, “Privatisation of Delhi Jal Board will render 10 to 12,000 workers jobless, to add to the lakhs of people who have lost their jobs and livelihood due to the Covid-19 pandemic.”