Piped drinking water to all households in Delhi by 2024: Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said the state government is working towards ensuring piped drinking water to all houses in the national capital in the next five years. Kejriwal also met Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to demand a fresh allocation for Delhi’s water share, which has been fixed at 875 cusecs since 1996.

“Today’s water requirement of Delhi cannot be met with what was fixed in 1996. I also appeal to you to consider the fact that Delhi is the country’s capital and all authorities concerned must ensure that drinking water is available to all residents. It must be the primary responsibility of all,” Kejriwal said after the meeting.

Delhi is a special state wherein certain matters, including land and law and order, come under the central government.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led state government on Monday laid the foundation stone for a 47.7 crore litre water treatment plant. Speaking at the event, Kejriwal said that since the AAP government came to power in 2015, the number of colonies with piped water supply has gone from 58% to 88%.

"Our engineers have successfully plugged leakage of water and theft has also been controlled to a large extent. With the same amount of water we have been able to improve the management. Illegal tankers have been cracked down upon. I am optimistic that by 2024, every single household will have access to 24x7 drinking water through taps,” Kejriwal said.

The Delhi CM said that the government was working on long-term solutions for water, including large scale rainwater harvesting and tapping the potential of the Yamuna floodplain. Kejriwal had also raised the issue of water during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week.