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In the first major step toward reforming the water sector, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Tuesday announced involving the private sector in overall management, maintenance and distribution of water in certain areas of the national capital as part of a long-term goal to improve its services.
The decision is part of a series of measures DJB announced today in its annual budget in which a plan outlay of Rs 1716.28 crore has been set aside to improve and modernise the water distribution network as well as the sewer system. The decision to involve private sector in distribution and management of DJB's network comes days after the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, who is chairperson of the agency, told the Assembly that her government would reform the water sector on the lines of power sector.
PPP model
Top DJB officials said the private sector would be involved in water distribution, management and maintenance of the agency's infrastructure in Malviya Nagar, Vasant Vihar and Nangloi areas of the city in public-private partnership mode and will be paid a “fee” for their services.
The agency also announced setting up of a revenue management system and a tanker management system, besides deciding to introduce a biometric attendance system for its employees.
“We are going to computerise the entire revenue generation system to plug the loopholes while under tanker management system, a GPS-based operating system is being set up to track the movement of the tankers,” member of DJB board, Mr Prasant Goel said.
Out of the total Plan outlay, Rs 925 crore has been set aside to improve the distribution network, Rs 9 crore for slum clusters and Rs 136 crore to set up water supply network in unauthorised colonies.
An allocation of Rs 791 crore has been made for improving the sewer network which included Rs 350 crore grant-in-aid for Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Management projects.
The DJB also announced to spend Rs 1,357 crore over a period of next few years to set up interceptor sewer to cut down flow of affluents into Yamuna and construction of sewage treatment plant at Nilothi and Pappankalan and Possengipur at a cost of Rs 285. Part of the funding for these projects would come from the Union Government.
It said a total of Rs 1,664 crore would be spent in the next few years as part of the Yamuna Action Plan-III under which several sewerage treatment plants would be set up in various areas of the city to cut down discharge of pollutants into the river.
In the budget, the agency also announced to come out with a ‘Water Master Plan – 2021' and a ‘Sewer Master Plan – 2031' to plan for future requirement water requirement and sewer management system in the city.
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