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Complaints on water crisis shoot up

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Demand being met, claims Jal Board

NEW DELHI: As the hot weather intensifies in Delhi, the number of complaints about water shortage from across the city has shown a perceptible increase over the past few days.

While the Delhi Jal Board boasts of meeting the water-starved city's demand by supplying close to 730 million gallons water per day, the increase in complaints is an indicator of the skewed demand-supply ratio.

Experts working in the field of water conservation say the water utility has failed to drive home the need for conservation and failed in ensuring an equitable distribution. Pushing for fiscal incentives to cut down water wastage, experts point out that the water utility should put a limit to water usage to bring down wastage.

"The problem is two-fold. First, close to 40 per cent of the water is lost during transmission through leakage and pilferage. Second, there is no control over consumption. The inequitable distribution of water has compounded the problem, while areas in Delhi Cantonment and under the NDMC are supplied 400 to 500 litres per person per day, in other areas the figure gets halved," said Suresh Babu, Deputy Coordinator (River Pollution Campaign) of the Centre for Science and Environment.

Proffering a solution, Mr. Babu said: "We have suggested bringing in a policy in terms of water conservation. The Jal Board has to offer fiscal incentives for cutting down water wastage. For instance, there could be a free supply of water up to 40 litres per person per day, but for consumption above that the charges should be high."

Attributing the scarcity to "bad management", social activist and Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal said: "There is no dearth of water in Delhi. What we get is far more than what we require. What we lack is good management, equitable distribution and accountability."

In a city where the shortfall hovers around 150 million gallons in daily supply, the Jal Board claims that the figures are exaggerated. A senior Board official said: "It is incorrect to say that 40 per cent water is lost through leakage. Just 10 per cent is lost through leaks, around 40-42 per cent is non-revenue water -- that is supplied to unauthorised colonies, slum clusters and through water tankers, all of which fetches us no revenue."

On the inequitable distribution of water, officials said: "We have hundreds of unplanned, unrecognised colonies, jhuggi-jhompri clusters. There are places where there is no place even to dig a tube well, how can we then supply equally? Equitable distribution is a misnomer ."

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