Boosting Delhi’s groundwater level to ensure 24×7 supply to all: Arvind Kejriwal

Highlighting water issues between Delhi and Haryana, the CM said, “Delhi gets water from neighbouring states as per the allotment made in the 90s by the Supreme Court; the amount hasn’t been increased ever since. Delhi’s population has increased from less than 1 crore in the 90s to 2.5 crore now. We are trying to augment water production capacity both by implementing measures internally and asking the Centre to increase Delhi’s share of water coming from these states. We will supply treated water from Rohini STP to nearby lakes.”

“At the same time, we are making efforts to implement the most advanced water management systems to increase water supply throughout Delhi using internal sources,” he added.

He said they have inspected the Rohini STP, which treats 15 MGD of wastewater every day. “After treatment, it was earlier released into the Yamuna. However, now the government has decided to make it cleaner and improve its purity from the 25:30 standards and add it to the under construction Rohini lake. This will help increase groundwater levels.”

The government is also working to install tubewells at several places for extracting water that can be used for drinking. By February 2023, this mechanism will be in place and operational.

The government is extensively working to make Delhi a ‘City of Lakes’ and has planned to revive 250 water bodies and 23 lakes, including the one at Rohini. The purpose of the project is to create multiple water reservoirs to stop urban flooding and avoid choked drains.