Tatsat Chronicle Magazine

The Delhi government intends to increase the capital’s water supply by installing RO plants

September 24, 2021

Five RO plants with a total capacity of 363 million litres per day (MLD) will be built in the first year of the project

The Delhi government intends to supplement water supplies by constructing reverse osmosis (RO) water purification plants in places where groundwater is insufficient, as well as in areas where water tankers and jhuggis are used. Five RO plants with a total capacity of 363 million litres per day (MLD) will be built in the first year of the project. Small RO plants are also anticipated to pop up in locations where water tankers are now used. For every 500 households, a mini RO plant will be built. One RO plant will be built for every jhuggi, with more potentially being built in locations with populations above 2,000.

Okhla (136 MLD), Dwarka (68 MLD), Nilothi-Nangloi (68 MLD), Chilla (45 MLD), and Najafgarh (45 MLD) would be the five RO plants (45 MLD). These locations were chosen because they have high groundwater levels but are unsuitable owing to salinity or total dissolved solids. The RO facilities will purify groundwater and provide it to houses using existing Delhi Jal Board (DJB) pipelines.

Localities with high but unusable groundwater levels have been prioritised for the installation of localised RO plants, according to a senior DJB official. Teams from the DJB have been entrusted with compiling a list of such locations and colonies, as well as preparing tenders for smaller plants. Because these facilities are costly, private investors will build them, and the DJB will purchase purified water at a fixed monthly charge that includes both the cost of purified water and the cost of capital, according to the official. “Rates for consumers will stay unchanged,” the spokesman stated. Plant maintenance will be handled by a commercial firm. Tenders for the larger plants will be issued in the first week of October, and installation will commence two months after the tenders are received.