New Delhi: Out of 10 biggest promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party during Delhi assembly polls, half electricity bills and 20 kilolitres of free water every month, were the biggest ones.
Taking the first step towards slashing power tariff by 50 per cent, the Delhi government has directed finance and power departments to immediately send their proposals for its implementation. The Kejriwal-led government has also directed the Delhi Jal Board to prepare a proposal on providing free water up to 20,000 litres to every household per month.
As per the government plan, the consumer has to pay the bill for the entire quantity if the usage is above 20 kilolitres. But what made the AAP government arrived at this 20 kilolitres figure?
According to AAP leader Atishi Marlena, a World Health Organisation report states that a person needs around 160 litres per day for ‘dignified living'. The average family size in Delhi is around 4-5 persons. Rounding up the needs of every member of the family, a household requires 20,000 litres of water per month. So the figure is not random but thoroughly studied and researched.
Only the households which have metered water connection are eligible for the free water. Although, the government is working on to provide water connection to every household in the city.
Marlena told The Indian Express that the move will cost the government Rs 65 crore as subsidy for a quarter of the year. She said that the measure will benefit households which consumes up to 20 kilolitres of water per month. The households which consume 20-40 kilolitres of water per month will have pay the whole amount of water consumed. The third slab of consumers, those using more than 40 kilolitres, will pay the bill at an increased rate. “The cross-subsidy will take care of the finances around the scheme,” she said.
The Delhi Statistical Report for 2014 puts the number of metered connection in the capital around 16,02,099 in 2013-14, about 59,274 more than in 2012-13. Similarly, the number of unmetered connections has also gone up by 30,914 – from 4,38,791 in 2012-13 to 4,69,705 in 2013-14.
A white paper on water released by AAP said that out of 33.41 lakh households in Delhi, only about 20 per cent have piped water supply. Over 50 lakh people do not receive piped water and rely on other sources such as tankers and borewells, the party said.
