The Delhi Government on Friday waived the Development and Infrastructure charge levied on water and sewer connections in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that the people will only have to pay Rs 2,310 for a new water or sewer connection. “Delhi Jal Board has taken some important decision. Whenever new pipelines were installed people did not opt for connection due to high Development and Infrastructure Charges. Later, people used to take the illegal connections and not the formal connection,” he told reporters here. “When our government was formed, we used to charge Rs 500 per metre and we reduced to Rs 100 per metre. But we realised the charges are still too high. So, we have decided that Development and Infrastructure Charge for water and sewer will not be charged from today onwards. Now, the citizens will only have to pay Rs 2,310 for a new water or sewer connection irrespective of any plot,” Kejriwal said. He said that the people in large numbers will take water and sewer connections in areas where pipelines have already been laid. “And people will come under network, so the unaccounted water will be reduced and will come in the mainstream,” Kejriwal said. The Chief Minister outlined that 93 per cent of Delhi is covered with water pipe now. He refused to comment on the water controversy and said: “I don’t want to indulge in politics. They don’t have anything to with water but to do dirty politics.” “When we formed the government, there were 2300 areas where polluted water was a problem now only 125 areas are ,” he said. Kejriwal and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan are at loggerheads after a study conducted by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) said that the water quality in Delhi didn’t meet its standards.
