New Delhi: The Delhi government, in connivance with private firms, has shown inflated figures of water being treated and wasted to increase tariff and implement a Rs 520 crore project to replace the water pipeline in the city, Aam
Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Saturday. "There is a clear nexus between the company (which supplies treated water) and Sheila Dikshit government," he told reporters.
Elaborating on the alleged "scam", he asked how Sonia Vihar water treatment plant, which was set up by a French company Degremont, could claim to produce 140 MGD of treated water when it is only provided 48 million Gallons per Day (MGD) by Delhi government. "Artificially they are inflating the production, because when they inflate the production, they can claim 140 MGD of water produced, 48 MGD was supplied and rest of it leaked. Consumers are not paying the bills," he said.
The city government has prepared a Rs 520-crore project to replace the existing pipeline in Malviya Nagar to reduce Non Revenue Water (NRW) - the water which go waste, from Sonia Vihar plant. "And the project is awarded to the same company and now financial burden of the entire project on Malviya Nagar people will be Rs 1.6 lakh per person and interest part will be Rs 1,500 per family per month," he said, adding "we are helpless as if we go to courts then the matter would take years and till then people have to pay through their nose."
When asked how he will take the fight to logical conclusion, he said, people will have to take a call. Delhi Jal Board refuted the claim and said points raised by Kejriwal were inaccurate and due diligence has been taken in the project. Questioning the Delhi Jal Board's claim of suppling 840 MGD water, half of which is NRW including 25 per cent of the total which is wasted due to leakages in pipeline, he said "this means 210 MGD of water gets leaked everyday, if that much of water comes on road then there would be flood in Delhi and if it goes in ground then water table would have risen."
He claimed that wherever in the world water has been privatised, there have been water riots as the cost of water had gone out of reach of people. He also alleged that most the companies, which are working here, have been blacklisted in many countries due to their corrupt practices.
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