DJB officials had doubts about the utilisation of the extra water that Delhi is expected to receive from Himachal Pradesh. “Given that the existing water treatment plants are already operating at their maximum capacity, there is limited scope for accommodating and processing extra water,” said a DJB official. “We estimate that around 67 MGD of water will be available when Haryana releases water, but that will not reflect in the actual water production.”
The 137 cusecs of raw water that the hill state will be releasing for the city will amount to approximately 70 MGD. After accounting for water losses of about 10%, the Wazirabad barrage will ultimately receive around 65 MGD of water. With all the nine WTPs already operating above their capacities, treating this extra volume of water would require an increased capacity.
It is being estimated that only around 30 MGD of the expected 65 MGD will be available in the next few days, presenting a challenge to DJB. But while water minister Atishi accused the BJP-ruled Haryana govt of allegedly stopping water flowing to the capital, DJB’s summer bulletin on Friday indicated no problems with water production and meeting the target set under the summer action plan.
DJB has faced delays in completing work on two major water treatment plants. The construction of a new WTP at Chandrawal, with a capacity of 105 MGD, was initially scheduled for completion in March but has been delayed. The completion of another WTP at Dwarka, which has the potential to increase production by 50 MGD, is also behind schedule.
According to Delhi’s Economic Survey Report 2023, the overall water requirement of the city is 1,290 MGD, with an increase in the summer months. DJB’s own target is to produce 1,000 MGD of water. The city has been grappling with an extremely hot summer and abnormally high temperatures for several days. This has compounded the shortage of water supply. When the situation escalated, a political blame game erupted between Delhi govt and BJP, which is in power in Haryana, with either side holding the other responsible for the crisis.
