New Delhi, March 16
Aiming to increase water supply to the capital, the Delhi government is in talks with its Haryana counterpart for a water exchange project, Delhi minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said on Monday.
Currently, the city’s average water production ranges between 900-1,000 million gallons per day (MGD), while the average requirement is around 1,260 MGD, with demand peaking during the summer season.
“While we fix the gaps in our supply lines and reduce water losses, the Delhi government is working on a project for exchange of 30 cusecs of raw water from Haryana in exchange of treated water, which can be used for irrigation purposes in their state,” Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said.
According to the minister, there is a major factor of 20 per cent water loss in transmission from Haryana, which is increasing the gap in demand and production.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) currently operates nine water treatment plants (WTP) supplying around 864 MGD water and the remaining 126 MGD is extracted with the help of Ranney wells and tubewells, officials said.
“One of the main sources of raw water in Delhi is the Munak Canal, Haryana, which accounts for 60 per cent of the total water supply in Delhi. As per a water sharing arrangement between north Indian states, Haryana provides approximately 1,133 cusecs of water to Delhi via Munak Canal and the Yamuna,” an official said.
“We are talking to the neighbouring government to also repair major canals through which water is received. Delhi should receive the total water it is allocated, excluding transmission losses,” the minister said .
To reduce water loss during supply, the DJB is replacing old water pipelines across the capital, Singh added.
PTI
