New Delhi: The Rs 2,574-crore Wazirabad water supply improvement project has received in-principle approval from the screening committee of the economic affairs department, paving the way for implementing the long-pending plan to modernise the supply network in the Wazirabad water treatment plant’s (WTP) command area spread over several assembly constituencies.Funded with assistance from Asian Development Bank, the project was conceptualised in 2013, but remained stalled for several years. It will cover the entire water supply chain, from treatment and transmission to distribution and household connections.Water minister Parvesh Verma said Monday, “A key component of the project is the replacement of old, damaged and undersized pipelines and the laying of new transmission and distribution lines, wherever required.” Existing networks will also be interconnected to improve water pressure, distribution and reliability, he added.The command area covers a large and densely populated stretch, including Burari, Model Town, Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar, Jahangirpuri, Punjabi Bagh, Shakur Basti, Peeragarhi, Avantika, Pitampura and adjoining residential and institutional areas.The wider programme will be taken up zone-wise, with works in the west and southwest zones targeted for award by Jan 2027. The east, northeast, northwest and south zones are to be awarded by March 2027.The WTP, underground reservoirs, pumping infrastructure and distribution network will be upgraded. While house service connections will be improved and regularised, areas without formal connections will be brought into the planned network, wherever feasible.The project will significantly focus on reducing non-revenue water, which includes water lost through leakages, physical losses and unauthorised consumption. The upgraded network is expected to improve monitoring of water flows and help ensure a larger share of treated water reaches consumers.For technology-driven monitoring, eight interconnected command centres will be established for Wazirabad, Chandrawal and west, southwest, east, northeast, northwest and south zones. These centres will operate through a common digital platform and provide officials with a city-wide view of the network to track water flow, pressure, reservoir levels and pumping infrastructure, allowing them to identify and address network problems faster.Delhi Jal Board has received a Rs 43.8-crore proposal for appointing a project management consultancy to provide technical and project management support, including implementation, supervision and coordination.
