Summer season: DJB asked to give daily reports on water availability, supply to CM Kejriwal

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Monday to give him daily reports on water availability and supply and prepare a comprehensive plan to ensure that treated wastewater is reused in the city.

The DJB supplies 995 million gallons of water a day for the consumption and daily needs of around two crore residents of Delhi, against the demand of around 1,300 MGD. The government is aiming to increase the water availability in the national capital to 1,240 MGD by March 2025. Kejriwal held a meeting with DJB officials to review the preparations for the summer season.

"DJB will now have to give daily report of total availability and supply of water in Delhi to Honorable Chief Minister," the chief minister's office wrote on Twitter. "Complete plan for re-use of STP water should be made, water will also be given to nearby parks," it said in another tweet.

Delhi's sewage treatment plants discharge 514 MGD of treated waste water, of which 267 MGD is returned to the Yamuna river for downstream use and 90 MGD is used for horticulture purposes. The CMO said more than 450 places have been identified in Delhi where arrangements will be made to provide clean and pure water to the public through reverse-osmosis systems.

The groundwater table at a number of places in Delhi is high but the water is not fit for drinking purposes owing to high salinity levels. The government plans to draw groundwater in such areas and clean it using modern RO systems, according to officials. The CMO also said the government will ensure an early approval for all the DJB schemes from different departments. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast above-normal temperatures in most parts of the country this summer season, which could strain the water supply in parts of Delhi, which depends on neighbouring states for water.