Delhi water supply cannot be privatised: Arvind Kejriwal

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the AAP government will make water supply in Delhi as good as in developed countries and hire a consultant for better water management ensuring not a drop goes to waste in the city.

He said the government will ensure round-the-clock water supply in the next five years and refuted allegations that water supply in the national capital was being privatised.

"Water supply cannot be privatised. It can never happen. I assure you this," the Chief Minister said during a digital press conference.

Kejriwal said in the capital cities of developed nations, water is available round-the-clock with proper pressure and there is no need for a submersible pump.

"We will make it happen in Delhi. The city's water supply will be as good as in developed nations," Kejriwal said.

The Chief Minister said a lot of water goes to waste in Delhi. The Delhi Jal Board supplies 930 million gallons of water (MGD) per day to the city -- 176 litres per person. Of this, a lot of water gets stolen and leaked.

Accountability should be fixed for every drop of water. There should not be any wastage, Kejriwal asserted.

He said, "We are hiring a consultant which will tell us how to improve our water supply management and to ensure that not even a drop of water is wasted. We have started walking in the direction of providing round-the-clock water supply."

"The consultant will tell us about the state-of-art technology, such as the SCADA system, with the help of which water supply can be managed from the central control room," he said.

The Chief Minister also informed the reporters that his government has been working to increase water availability in Delhi.

"We have been working to increase water availability in Delhi. We have been talking to the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other states, which have more water," he said.