DJB expands water ATM model, 5 areas to benefit

Five water deficit colonies will now be able to withdraw water from ‘Water ATMs’ by paying a token amount of 37 paise per litre through a smart card.

With the increase in the number of unauthorised colonies, the demand for water is also increasing and the project was taken up to meet this problem of water shortage.

After getting a positive response from the pilot project already running at Savda Ghevra, a resettlement colony in southwest Delhi, the Delhi Jal Borad (DJB) decided to replicate the model and had awarded work for 45 such ATMs in ten colonies, which are facing acute water shortage.

Out of the ten, water dispensing units have been installed in five such colonies – five in Dwarka sector 3, four in Holambi Kala, three in J J cluster in Shahbad Daulatpur, three in Narela, and three in Meethapur village.

Since there is one RO in one colony, those drawing water from the unit or kiosk near it are paying 20 paise per litre and those from other units will be charged 37 paise per litre.
“Around 100-150 houses will be able to draw water from one water dispensing unit. These colonies do not have piped water supply and the DJB provides water through its tankers. These ATMs will be able to solve the water shortage problem to an extent,” said a DJB official. 

The project is already running in Savda Ghevra colony which has a decentralised water treatment plant to extract groundwater which then is purified through reverse osmosis (RO) system and then provided to the people through 15 kiosks.

The residents are currently drawing one litre of water from two water dispensing units installed at the plant by paying 15 paise and from 13 other kiosks at the cost of 30 paise using smart cards, called ‘Sarvajal’ cards.  

Though the facility has become quite popular with the people in the colony, the official concedes that the revenue to the vendor is not what was envisaged before as people prefer tankers over these units as they provide water free of cost.

“But we see these units as an option when tankers are not available,” the official said.
Besides this, the DJB is also working on another project to set up free drinking water facility which will provide filtered water at public places like bus shelters and crowded markets which see a high footfall. “At one go, one person will be able to draw only one glass, 250 ml, of water. These kiosks will be set up by next summer,” the official said.
One constituency will have ten such units.