The Delhi government’s decision to hike water tariff by as much as two-and-half times (expected to come into force from January 1) would surely cause heartburns in many. And justifiably so. It is one thing to pay for a service but quite another to shoulder the burden of an utterly inefficient and callous Delhi Jal Board that looks after the supply of water to the city. It has never managed to match supply with the need. Right now Delhi needs about 1100 mgd water while the supply is merely 800 mgd. The equation remains more or less for the past two decades. Worse, leakage and pilferage continue to be unbelievably high—at 50%! And as Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit admitted while taking the decision to hike the tariff, “tanker mafia” continues to charge several times more than what it should abd routinely diverts supply to the highest bidder.
If there is a crisis requiring a steep hike in tariff, which it seems with an annual loss of Rs 1500 crore a year to the DJB, shouldn’t the government first put its house in order? Say for example, by eliminating the leakage and pilferage or at least setting a target of reducing it by 10% every year? It is also known that while an ordinary resident is struggling for a regular supply even for the purpose of cooking, the privileged ones living in the Lutyens’ Zone and the commercial establishments, particularly the five star hotels in and around it, have no qualms in splurging by way of watering the sprawling swimming pools and lawns that dot the area. Reports suggest that the government plans to install fancy Jacuzzis in all the state-run hotels and the apartments being readied for the officials and athletes who would be attending the Commonwealth Games next year.
If the Delhi Jal Board is in a crisis, isn’t it more appropriate to begin an austerity drive? How about making a beginning by banning all Jacuzzis, for example?
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