Delhi Jal Board seeks tie-ups with companies to rejuvenate water bodies in bulk

NEW DELHI: Following the footsteps of Mohalla Clinics by working on projects in bulk packages, the Delhi Jal Board has decided to adopt the same execution model for the rejuvenation of water bodies. “Earlier, the projects would comprise of five or six water bodies, but that was time-consuming. So, it has been decided that projects on 30-50 water bodies will be taken up in parallel packages by big companies. This will save time as well,” said Ankit Srivastava, Advisor, Delhi Jal Board.

Delhi Jal Board Chairman Satyendar Jain who also manages the Irrigation and Flood Control  (I & FC) Department has issued an SOP that instructs work on water bodies to be done in bulk. Sources said that the SOP are to adhered to strictly and that Jain is holding review meetings frequently to appraise the developments.

The SOP also states that rejuvenation of the water bodies has to be completed in three phases of development —  first being the removal of garbage, fencing site and excavation of the pond up to desired depth.

Second, to arrange water from either the nearest sewage treatment plant (STP) or setting up a D STP. And third, being landscaping of water bodies. Jain has ordered for the completition of phases one and two immediately.

For the packages, the DJB is looking for big companies to bid and the cost of each package will come to around Rs 80-90 crores. As per the department, the earlier projects which would come in packages containing five or six water bodies and would often get delayed as smaller bidders would come up with different issues which invariably kept pushing the deadline behind. By roping in bigger companies for the projects, the DJB believes that there won’t be an issue with man power or financing.

“Our target is to get the work done within eight months administratition wise, so that over the next year and a half all the projects are over. These 200 water bodies don’t need much effort and each project will cost around Rs 2 crores. Once these are done, then we will take up around 650 water bodies which are under the I & FC department,” Srivastava added.