Latest technology needed to plug water pipeline leaks: Dikshit

Lamenting the growth of "tanker mafia" in the city, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit today said latest technologies should be adopted to stop pipeline leakages, that lead to wastage of some 42% of water.

"Delhi is an ancient city, where many water lines are 75 to 100 years old. Corroded and old pipes lead to leakages, due to which 39 to 42% of water is wasted," she said at a seminar on 'Water Equipment and Management', organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.

Ever-burgeoning population, proliferation of unauthorised colonies and over-consumption are some of the causes of the city's water woes, she said adding, Delhi does not have effective solutions to tackle the problems.

"Unfortunately, a tanker mafia has grown in Delhi which wants this situation to continue due to their vested interests. It is a shame the capital city has to depend on water tankers," Dikshit said.

Remarking that NGOs strongly objected when Delhi government asked the World Bank to conduct a study on water system some time back, she said, "It was alleged that we are trying to privatise...due to political and people's pressure, we had to shelve the report.

"But, we cannot afford to do it any more. We need the latest equipment for plugging leakages. The private sector should help. There will be initial resistance, but we will have to swallow the bitter pill and take courageous decisions," she said.

Private sector should also help educate the people to stop misuse of water, Dikshit said adding, "The government and private sector working together for better use and distribution of water can help get rid of tanker mafia."

Minister of State for water resources Vincent Pala said, "We have to efficiently manage water resources to ensure availability of safe drinking water and assure food security."

Apart from taking up necessary measures for the integrated development of available resources, water management strategies are required to be carefully designed so that they lead to overall development of the country, he said.

Noting the changing pattern in the share-requirement of water, he said the share of domestic water usage is projected to grow from 5% to 9% by 2050, while by 2025, industrial usage may reach 8% from 5%.

Asking the private sector to contribute with innovative ideas, he said it should see this mission as part of its corporate social responsibility.

CII water equipment and management division chairman Rajesh Sharma said the industry is ready to offer solutions and collaborate. Noting that the demand for water is projected to outgrow supply by 2020, he said technologies for treating waste water for re-use and desalination of sea water could be adopted to combat the problem.

Mukund Vasudevan, MD of private firm Pentair Water India, spoke on how simple home-based water treatment systems can help save nearly 40% of water.