AAP promises free water for all in Delhi

Also opposes the idea of privatising the Delhi Jal Board

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) went a step ahead from  previous poll promises and vowed to provide effectively free water to all households in Delhi, extending the benefits to group housing societies and abolishing any yearly rise in rates.

It said it opposed the idea of privatising the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and to try and ensure piped water connections to every household in five years.

Issuing a position paper titled Jal Swaraj, it promised free supply up to 20,000 litres a month to all Delhi households with a metered connection.

AAP'S WATER PROMISES

• Free water up to 20,000 litres a month to all households with metered connections
• Benefits to be extended to group housing societies too this time
• Abolish the mandatory 10 per cent yearly hike in water charges
• No privatisation of Delhi Jal Board  
• Performance audit of private contracts by DJB
• A comprehensive program for installation of bulk and domestic water meters

This means, on an average, each household gets 666 litres free on a daily basis.

Its government in the city had announced a similar benefit on the first day of assuming charge in December 2013. However, the thousands of group housing societies were kept out of the benefit at that time, as there was no individual water meter connection. This time, it has proposed this benefit to such societies by making bulk allotments, based on the number of houses in the premises, “which will incentivise societies to self-regulate their consumption”.

 The party proposed to amend the DJB Act “to make clean drinking water a right of people”. Terming water a “fundamental right to life” and not a “commodity”, it said pricing policy would remain public-friendly. Any rise in rates would only be need-based. The DJB resolution of 2009 for a 10 per cent yearly rise would be rejected.

Contracts to private parties in the water and sewerage sectors would be subjected to performance audits. Those not doing well or too expensive would be terminated.

“About Rs 32,000 crore has been spent in the water and sewerage sector by the Delhi government over the past 10 years without much improvement,” the party claimed.

It promised a comprehensive programme for installation of bulk and domestic water meters. As for piped water, it said of 3.3 million households, about two million had piped water. It offered a “special commitment to all unauthorised colonies, group housing societies and water-starved constituencies” by various steps such as getting supply from Haryana, reviving non-functional water plants and building new treatment plants, among others.