The wastewater collection chamber at the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGMENT
Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, in a letter to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, highlighted the unhygienic and unsanitary conditions at the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP), Raj Niwas officials said on Saturday.
According to the officials, Mr. Saxena also pointed out the “gross inaction” on the part of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) in desilting the pond reservoir behind the Wazirabad barrage.
Mr. Saxena’s statements drew a sharp reaction from newly inducted Water Minister and DJB chairperson Saurabh Bharadwaj, who called it an attempt to “distract” from the issue of “illegal sand mining” in BJP-ruled Haryana.
On Tuesday, the DJB had said the city was getting less water from Yamuna due to illegal sand mining in Haryana which, in turn, was affecting the supply of treated water.
According to the DJB, low water level in Yamuna has decreased the production in Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants affecting supply in many areas of Delhi before summer.
Reduced capacity
Noting that the WTP supplies drinking water to large parts of the national Capital, Mr. Saxena, in his letter, said the pond had a capacity to hold 250 million gallons of water. However, the capacity has reduced to 16 million gallons as no desiltation work has been carried out, the L-G added.
Despite a desilting contract being in place since 2013, no desiltation work has taken place resulting in the depth of the pond reducing from 4.26 metres to only 0.42 metres in the past eight years, Mr. Saxena said, adding that the pond feeds the WTPs at Wazirabad and Chandrawal. Raj Niwas officials said the L-G noted that “frequent water shortages” in the city were due to the Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs not being completely operational, and “not due to the excuses that AAP makes to fool the people.”
AAP responds
Mr. Bharadwaj said illegal sand mining in Haryana has blocked the supply of Yamuna water towards the city, and has instead resulted in release of industrial wastewater. He added that water at the Wazirabad pond “is nothing but industrial waste from the drains of Haryana”, and is of no use due to the presence of high levels of pollutants, especially ammonia. “The people of Delhi feel extremely sad that the L-G is playing dirty politics over the sensitive issue of water supply in the city. Either he is unaware of the facts or he is deliberately doing cheap politics. The issue raised by him is due to the inefficiency and inaction of the Haryana government because of which the people of Delhi are suffering,” he said, adding that the L-G is trying to pass the buck to the Delhi government.
Mr. Bharadwaj said the Wazirabad and Chandrawal WTPs have been receiving contaminated water for “the past many years”, which has resulted in frequent corrosion of the mechanical equipment. “It is the joint responsibility of people in constitutional posts to ensure the delivery of clean water to the public. The Delhi government, hence, proposes a joint visit of the complete stretch of Yamuna from Delhi border to Tajewala along with the L-G and the Haryana CM to show evidence of mining and pollution dumping,” he added.
