Delhi Jal Board
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Formation | April 6, 1998 |
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| Website | Delhi Jal Borad |
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is the government agency responsible for the supply of potable water to most of the National Capital Territory region of Delhi, India. Delhi Jal Board was constituted on 6 April 1998 through an Act[1] of the Delhi Legislative Assembly incorporating the previous Delhi Water Supply and Sewage Disposal Undertaking. DJB is also responsible for the treatment and disposal of waste water.[2]
In 2004, the DJB called on residents to use a bucket of water instead of shower in order to save water.[3] In July 2012, the Board decided the privatization of tanker management system in the city to check pilferage of water.[4] In late 2019, vide Resolution No. 871 dated 27.08.2019, the DJB announced a complete waiver of water arrears for people living in colonies categorized as E, F, G and H (House Tax Categorization) and a rebate ranging from 25-75 per cent of the dues for consumers falling in the other four categories (A-D). [5] [6] After a history of non-implementation of Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) Systems in the city [7] , the Board has now mandated the installation of such systems in the city while setting a hard target for implementation. [8] The Board has also made attempts to incentivize RWH methods by proposing financial assistance for the construction of RWH systems providing rebates on the water bill to households which install such systems. [9] The Board has also proposed the imposition of fines on households not complying with the hard deadline of March 2020 for getting RWH systems installed. [10]
Challenges in meeting needs of workers and residents
A 2007 article in Newsweek profiled a ten-year veteran sewer worker of Delhi Jal, in preparation for the 2007 World Toilet Summit in New Delhi. "The four-day event is exploring ways to bring sewage systems to the estimated 2.6 billion people in the world who don't have proper toilets, including 700 million in India alone."
The article carried the headline: "The world's worst job? Indian sewage workers are certainly in the running," adding that the 3,700 miles of existing sewer lines were in poor repair and had inadequate capacity to meet the needs of a growing population.[11]