Consumers can buy, install water metres of their choice: DJB

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) today said consumers can buy and install metres of their choice based on the specification provided by the board to avail the benefit of 20,000 litres of free water, which was announced by the AAP government in February.
A DJB official said it is mandatory for consumers to have functional water meters to measure their consumption to avail 20,000 litres of free water. According to DJB data, there are 21.19 lakh connections.
"The decision to allow buying metres from market has been taken not only to expedite the process of installation of quality water metres but also to facilitate the consumers to avail the facility of 20,000 liters free water at the earliest possible.

"Metering system will ensure that all the citizens avail the benefit of 20,000 litres of free water. It will also help DJB conduct water audits, as well as, understand and analyse the water consumption pattern in the city of Delhi which is necessary for efficient management of water to ensure equitable distribution," the DJB official said.
As per DJB, consumers can buy the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and IP 68 marked quality water metres in the market and install them.
The official said that water metres meeting BIS standards with IP68 specification have several advantages over other metres available in the market. These meters are tamper proof, leak proof, dust proof and water proof hence have less chance of hindrance in metre reading due to vapor, dust etc.

These meters also have features such as indication of alarm in the system for leakage, overflow, tampering, reverse and backflow.

"DJB has also started installing automatic metres at its own cost. These metres reduce inconvenience to the consumers as they minimise human intervention with the added advantage of speedy/accurate readings," the official said.
According to the DJB official, no reading manipulation is possible with these new water metres. The automatic metre reading (AMR) machines are connected with the system and hence are required to be installed to cover an entire locality for optimum results.
To streamline the process of installation of water metres, DJB will be inviting an Expression of Interest (EOI) to empanel manufacturers who produce BIS standard with IP68 specification water metres. The process is expected to be completed within two months.