Delhi PWD Minister rolls out Summer Action Plan

To tackle peak summer demand and long-standing infrastructure gaps, Delhi’s Water and PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Monday unveiled the Summer Action Plan 2026-27, outlining a comprehensive strategy to strengthen water supply, improve sewer management and accelerate the rejuvenation of the Yamuna, alongside launching a suite of digital governance tools to enhance transparency and citizen engagement.

Announcing the plan at the Delhi Jal Board auditorium in Jhandewalan, the minister said the city will maintain a peak water production of around 1,002 MGD during summer, supported by fully operational water treatment plants, including Chandrawal, Wazirabad, Haiderpur, Okhla and Dwarka, with continuous monitoring of raw water quality to prevent disruptions. To bridge supply gaps in water-deficient areas, the government will commission 436 additional tube wells, taking the total to nearly 6,290 across the Capital.

The plan also focuses on strengthening distribution through preventive maintenance of reservoirs, annual flushing and intensified leak detection drives, while deploying around 1,221 water tankers per month during peak demand with GPS tracking, geo-tagging and real-time monitoring to curb misuse.

“The tanker system is not a permanent solution. Our focus is to make it transparent and accountable while strengthening pipeline infrastructure,” Verma said.

Highlighting water quality measures, the minister said eight laboratories are operational across treatment plants, testing up to 1,700 samples daily in compliance with BIS standards, while pipeline expansion in unauthorised colonies has reached 1,646 out of 1,799 areas, with the remaining to be covered in phases.

A major component of the plan centres on sewer management and pollution control, including replacement of ageing pipelines, de-silting of drains and deployment of advanced machinery to prevent untreated discharge into the Yamuna.

“Keeping sewer lines clean and ensuring that untreated waste does not enter the Yamuna is our direct responsibility,” Verma said.

The government also launched an AI-powered chatbot, an advanced CRM system and the DJB 1916 mobile app to enable real-time complaint tracking and citizen participation, alongside a 24x7 call centre with automatic escalation mechanisms for unresolved grievances.

Looking ahead, Verma outlined a long-term 50-year water master plan aiming to scale treatment capacity up to 1,500 MGD, promote decentralised sewage treatment plants and achieve “zero discharge” across colonies, while expanding rainwater harvesting and planning infrastructure for nearly 20 lakh upcoming housing units.

Acknowledging legacy challenges, the minister said, “The system we inherited had old infrastructure and inefficiencies at every step…transforming it is not easy, but we have begun,” adding that ensuring clean water, efficient sewer systems and a rejuvenated Yamuna is “essential for Delhi’s future.”