Only 40 pc of water supplied billed, Rs 3,951 cr loss in 3 yrs

One in every four Delhiite gets 3.82 litre of water a day as against a prescribed 172 litres, according to the government auditor which also found that the city government suffered a loss of Rs 3,951 crore in three years as less than 40 per cent of water supplied was billed.
In its report for the fiscal ending March 2012 tabled in Delhi Assembly today, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said raw water available in Delhi at present was not sufficient to provide potable water to the whole of Delhi as per prescribed norms.
It noted that two dams were proposed to be built on Yamuna in 1994 to augment water capacity but were not constructed even after a lapse of 18 years and incurring an expenditure of Rs 214 crore.

"The distribution of potable water was not equitable with per capital supply ranging from three litres per capita per day to more than 300 litres per capital per day," the CAG, which did a thematic audit of Delhi Jal Board, said.
"24.8 per cent of the households in Delhi were being supplied water through tankers in the absence of pipelines. Per capita supply to this population was only 3.82 litres per day against a prescribed norm of 172 litres," it said.
The auditor found out that the metering of water at consumer end was not comprehensive due to which only less than 40 per cent of water produced was billed during last three years.

Out of the 19.64 lakh water connections, 6.79 lakh connections (35 per cent) were without functional metres.

"The DJB lacks seriousness in intent to tackle the problem of excessive non-revenue water.... High percentage of non-revenue water resulted in a loss of revenue of Rs 3,950.90 crore during the last three years," the CAG said.
The auditor also found fault with the DJB for not having a proper system to measure water supplied to different areas.
Considering the per capital requirement of 60 gallons per day of potable water in Delhi, the CAG has estimated that current requirement of potable water works out to be 1,025 MGD and for 2012, it would be 1,216 MGD.

"Against this the current production is only about 818 MGD due to shortage of raw water, leaving a gap of 207 MGD," it said.