NEW DELHI: The Delhi government plans to improve and modernise the city’s water supply with the help of a Rs 2,500 crore loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), extended through the finance ministry, CM Rekha Gupta said on Wednesday.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has approved two water-supply projects worth around Rs 1,741 crore in the command area of the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant. Package-1 is worth Rs 805 crore and Package-2 `935 crore. ADB will fund 70% of the projects, with the remaining 30% to be borne by the Delhi government.
The projects will cover around 43.96 sqkm, nine underground reservoir (UGR) command areas and eight Assembly constituencies. Around 836 km of water distribution network will be developed, including nearly 570 km of new or replacement pipelines. Areas such as Mukherjee Nagar, Model Town, Jahangirpuri, Azadpur, Keshavpuram, Pitampura, Shalimar Bagh, Tri Nagar, Paschim Vihar, Rani Bagh, Wazirpur and Ashok Vihar will benefit.
The aim is to provide pressurised water 24x7 while accounting for every connection and reducing water losses. The system will use Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, instrumentation, smart metering and non-revenue water (NRW) monitoring. A total of 131 District Metered Areas will track water entering the system, reaching consumers and being lost through leakages or other causes.
The projects target a reduction in NRW to 15% through network rehabilitation, accurate metering, and systematic leakage reduction. Around 2.15 lakh household service connections will be covered, with 100% metering to improve transparency and scientific accounting.
The DJB has also approved a project to install smart meters for real-time monitoring and to prevent water loss.
‘Water security depends on reuse of treated sewage’
Gupta said the transformation would extend beyond Wazirabad. A Rs 11,427 crore investment plan for two zones covering West and Southwest Delhi has also been taken forward. It is expected to benefit around 36.4 lakh people and strengthen nearly 3,830 km of network.
The projects have been proposed under the Urban Challenge Fund, with 25 per cent funding from the Centre, 25 per cent from the Delhi government and the remaining 50 per cent proposed through loans or PPP models. The projects will strengthen UGRs, distribution networks and DMA metering.
A new 18 MLD UGR will be developed at Harsh Vihar in Shakur Basti. In Okhla, UGRs of 2.2 MGD and 3.7 MGD, along with booster pumping stations, will be developed at Batla House and Abul Fazal Enclave. The projects are expected to benefit around two lakh residents.
Water treatment plants of 50 MGD in Dwarka, 105 MGD in Chandrawal and 2 MGD in Bawana have been completed, along with UGRs in Bijwasan, Palla and Siraspur. Pipeline expansion and network upgradation in the Chandrawal command area is under way at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore and is expected to strengthen water supply in several Assembly constituencies.
Gupta said Delhi’s water security would also depend on reuse of treated sewage. Around 750 MGD of sewage is treated in Delhi. After accounting for environmental flows, around 483 MGD is available for reuse, but only around 120 MGD is currently being reused.
The treated water will be used for horticulture, construction, landscaping, washing, industrial cooling and other non-potable purposes. The rate will be Rs 8 per kilolitre when collected from DJB infrastructure or designated STP filling points.
For consumers arranging their own transportation, the rate for general non-potable use will be Rs 5 per kilolitre. The initiative is aimed at moving Delhi from a one-way water consumption model towards a circular water economy based on reuse.