Latest news with #DelhiJalBoard
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
With no takers, controversial SE Delhi bungalow to turn guest house
The controversial bungalow allegedly constructed in 2021 by a former top Delhi Jal Board official after demolishing a 15th-century monument in south east Delhi's Jal Vihar near Lajpat Nagar is now likely to be converted into a guest house, senior government functionaries confirmed. The bungalow in Jal Vihar, which is likely to be converted into a guest house (HT Archive) The bungalow has been lying vacant since September 2023. In April that year, it had emerged that the monument was allegedly demolished by the then DJB chief executive officer Udit Prakash Rai to build a new government accommodation for himself. A senior government functionary said that the bungalow has been offered to multiple senior officials but no one has been willing to use it as an accommodation 'due the controversy associated with it'. 'We are now planning to use it as a guest house so that the building is utilised,' the official cited aboveadded. Water minister Parvesh Verma also confirmed to HT that plans for the same are afoot. Officials, however, said that since the plot is marked only for residential use, its land use will have to be changed if it is converted into any other facility. Last year, DJB officials had floated the idea of converting the house into a laboratory cum training centre. The accommodation was at the centre of controversy in April 2023 after the Directorate of Vigilance issued a show cause notice to Prakash for allegedly razing the monument to construct a house for himself. The vigilance department said there was a 'monument' and a 'gateway' at this property. The monument also featured in the Archaeological Survey of India's 'List of Muhammadan and Hindu Monuments, Vol. IV' and is referred to as a 'Mahal'. It was built during the Sayyid rule in Delhi in 1418. The notice said that Rai was responsible for the demolition, violating residential accommodation rules. It added that while Rai was entitled to a type V government housing, the built-up area of the house replacing the monument was 700 sqm, which exceeded the prescribed area of 403 sqm. Nearly ₹4 crore was spent on building the house, the department said. On July 31, 2023, the Union home affairs ministry suspended Rai and asked him to vacate the house. Rai and his family left in September 2023, and the house has been vacant since then. A government functionary said that senior officers have been reluctant to take it up as an accommodation. '...The property still belongs to no one wants to be associated with the controversy.'
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
How Delhi Plans To Plug Water Leaks
New Delhi: With more than half of Delhi's water supply remaining unaccounted for, the govt has engaged a consultant to address the problem and significantly reduce the water loss rate, chief minister Rekha Gupta told Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday. Officials reported that a staggering 58% of water was wasted in transmission in the city, much higher than the national average of around 20%. In a meeting with Shah, Gupta said the consultant would not only identify the reasons behind such a high rate of water leakage but also suggest measures to strengthen the distribution network and improve infrastructure. This will ensure that the number of domestic water connections increases and the supply of potable water reaches every household through taps. According to Delhi Jal Board 's data, Delhi has a 15,600-kilometre water supply network, catering to 21.5 million consumers after treatment at nine treatment plants. A large amount of water is wasted due to 2,800km of the network being older than three decades. The network covers around 93.5% of the city, but the number of connections currently stands at only 2.9 million. You Can Also Check: Delhi AQI | Weather in Delhi | Bank Holidays in Delhi | Public Holidays in Delhi The chief minister informed Shah that the consultant would study DJB's three previous reports on reducing non-revenue water, prepared in 2003, 2011 and 2021, and come up with a strategy to strengthen the distribution network and draft consolidated schemes to increase water connections and improve the billing system. She added that a pilot to strengthen the distribution network had already started in northeast Delhi. Gupta added that DJB had also sought the help of the central govt to reduce the percentage of non-revenue water and systematically increase the number of connections and evaluate groundwater as a source to augment the supply of potable water. She said at least three meetings were held with the Union housing and urban affairs ministry and Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation for this purpose. Sources said Delhi govt had also decided to engage a project management unit for effective monitoring of various big-ticket projects to augment water and sewage treatment capacity. A request for proposal to engage a project management unit is likely to be floated within a few weeks, Gupta informed Shah. DJB has also started a drive to fill up a large number of posts of engineers and officers, the home minister was informed. While the process to engage junior engineers through Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineers has started, retired engineers will also be hired on a contractual basis for senior positions, CM said. DJB has engaged National Productivity Council for the restructuring of its manpower. Gupta said sewage treatment plants were upgraded in Rohini, Narela, Coronation Pillar and Keshopur phases II and III and the govt made necessary changes to ensure the upgradation of the Chandrawal and Waziarabad plants. The Chandrawal WTP was stuck due to non-felling of trees.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Consumers owe Jal Board Rs 1.42 lakh cr in pending water bills, Delhi Police top defaulter
The residents of Delhi owe the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Rs 1.42 lakh crore in pending water bills, officials have said. Of this, domestic consumers only owe the board Rs 15,000 crore, or 10.5% of the total amount. Officials said that consumers in the commercial category owe the DJB Rs 66,000 crore, followed by government departments, whose unpaid bills stand at Rs 61,000 crore, while domestic consumers owe the board Rs 15,000 crore. In the government category, officials said, Delhi Police tops the list of defaulters, followed by Delhi and Central government departments. At present, there are around 26.5 lakh consumers in 41 zones of DJB, said officials. The government is already working on a one-time scheme to waive the late payment surcharge (LPSC) of water bills of consumers falling under domestic and government categories. 'Work on the plan is currently going on. The plan will be ready in the next one-and-a-half months… by September. The government will waive LPSC charges. People will only have to pay the principal amount… the modalities for the same are being prepared,' Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said. According to officials, the pending bills have been adding up over the last 10 years. 'There are about 29 lakh water connections in Delhi, which is very less as compared to the city's population. The problem is that 70%-80% of the consumers claim that they have received inflated bills. Many also complain about irregular readings… To at least get the basic principal amount from domestic consumers, which stands at Rs 5,600 crore to Rs 6,000 crore, the government is planning to bring the waiver scheme,' said an official. Also, to avoid metering issues in the future, the government is planning to revamp the billing system and implement smart meters to collect water bills in Delhi, officials said. Officials further said that the government plans to do away with the scheme to provide 20,000 liters of free water per month to every household with a functional water meter. 'The scheme was brought by the previous AAP government. The BJP government is planning to make this scheme exclusive to people from the economically weaker sections, who genuinely require free water,' the official said. Officials further said the BJP government plans to revise water tariffs in Delhi.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
DJB faces ₹1.42 lakh crore unpaid dues: Parvesh Verma
New Delhi, Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday said the Delhi Jal Board is staring at an unprecedented financial crisis, with pending water bills around ₹1.42 lakh crore across the city. DJB faces ₹ 1.42 lakh crore unpaid dues: Parvesh Verma The DJB, which is in charge of supplying water, has been facing a major cash crunch. "In three categories, we have identified that the commercial category has the highest amount of dues ₹66,000 crore followed by the government category ₹61,000 crore and then domestic ₹15,000 crore," said Verma. The minister said these are mostly Late Payment Surcharge , adding the government plans to waive it off for domestic and government categories. The amount of charge that would be waived off is yet to be decided, he said. The DJB, which as well manages the sewage system, including collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater, in Delhi is also burdened by a debt exceeding ₹70,000 crore, including principal and interest amounts. Verma said the Delhi government has approached the Centre to assist in recovering dues from various government establishments. "We have also requested the Centre to help the government in getting the bill dues from several government establishments owed to us. The Board urgently needs funds to execute several infrastructure projects, including the cleaning of the Yamuna and upgrading the water supply network," he added. At least ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 crore in revenue will be collected after the LPSC waiver in the domestic and government categories, according to the government estimates. The establishments like private schools and hospitals are all included under the commercial category besides the government buildings and offices. Currently, the DJB has around 29 lakh registered customers. "We plan to waive off LPSC charges and the system will be ready within a month," said Verma. According to officials, there is also an issue of high compound interest rates on late bills around 18 per cent which increases the total bill amount significantly. In a step towards reducing consumer disputes regarding faulty meters and meter reading issues, the DJB is also planning to replace all mechanical water meters with smart water meters, they said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Delhi Jal Board faces Rs 1.42 trillion unpaid dues: Parvesh Verma
Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is staring at an unprecedented financial crisis, with pending water bills around Rs 1.42 lakh crore across the city. The DJB, which is in charge of supplying water, has been facing a major cash crunch. "In three categories, we have identified that the commercial category has the highest amount of dues Rs 66,000 crore followed by the government category Rs 61,000 crore and then domestic Rs 15,000 crore," said Verma. The minister said these are mostly Late Payment Surcharge (LPSC), adding the government plans to waive it off for domestic and government categories. The amount of charge that would be waived off is yet to be decided, he said. The DJB, which as well manages the sewage system, including collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater, in Delhi is also burdened by a debt exceeding Rs 70,000 crore, including principal and interest amounts. Verma said the Delhi government has approached the Centre to assist in recovering dues from various government establishments. "We have also requested the Centre to help the government in getting the bill dues from several government establishments owed to us. The Board urgently needs funds to execute several infrastructure projects, including the cleaning of the Yamuna and upgrading the water supply network," he added. At least Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore in revenue will be collected after the LPSC waiver in the domestic and government categories, according to the government estimates. The establishments like private schools and hospitals are all included under the commercial category besides the government buildings and offices. Currently, the DJB has around 29 lakh registered customers. "We plan to waive off LPSC charges and the system will be ready within a month," said Verma. According to officials, there is also an issue of high compound interest rates on late bills -- around 18 per cent -- which increases the total bill amount significantly. In a step towards reducing consumer disputes regarding faulty meters and meter reading issues, the DJB is also planning to replace all mechanical water meters with smart water meters, they said.
