New Delhi, March 23 The CAG report showed that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) incurred a revenue loss of Rs 4,988 crore due to Non-Revenue Water from 2017-18 to 2021-22.
The report, tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday, also stated that the DJB is not conducting water testing according to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms.
"The Non-Revenue Water (NRW) component was in the range of 51 per cent to 53 per cent of the average quantity of water supplied per day during the period 2017-22, except for the year 2019-20. The estimated revenue not realized by the DJB during this period due to NRW was Rs 4,988 crore," the report said.
NRW is defined as the extent of water produced that does not generate any revenue for the DJB.
Regarding water quality testing, the report highlights a shortage of staff and equipment in the DJB testing labs.
"There was a shortage of staff and equipment in the DJB testing labs. Water testing was not being conducted according to BIS norms. The continued use of carcinogenic polyelectrolytes at privately-run Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and recycling plants, despite a memorandum banning their use, was also observed," the report further stated.
"Out of the 16,234 samples of groundwater tested, 8,933 samples (55 per cent) were found unfit for potable purposes," the report said.
The CAG's performance report also states that during 2017-22, the transmission loss of water distributed from Underground Reservoirs and Service Reservoirs (SRs) increased from 16 per cent to 21 per cent.
"The situation was further aggravated by the inequitable distribution of potable water at zonal level. The per capita availability of potable water was less than 20 GPCD in four zones and less than 40 gallons per capita per day (GPCD) in eight zones, against the requirement of 60 GPCD," the audit said.
The report also found that the availability of raw water decreased against the increasing demands of the national capital during the same period.
"The shortage in the availability of raw water against the assessed requirement increased from 22 per cent in 2017-18 to 24 per cent in 2021-22, while the shortage in potable water against the assessed requirement increased from 24.2 per cent to 25.79 per cent," the performance report added.
According to the report, the main reason for the gap between "demand and supply of water was the inadequacy of raw water sources, its treatment capacity, and the failure to augment its supply."
For Delhi's projected population of approximately 28 million by March 2041, the DJB assessed the requirement of 1,680 million gallons per day (MGD) of water.
As per the report, treated water released by 25 STPs into the Yamuna "did not meet the norms prescribed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). There was also no mechanism to monitor fecal coliform (FC) bacteria levels in the treated effluent."
Regarding the execution of work, the CAG audit showed that "cases of irregularities in estimation, awarding, and execution of works were observed during the audit, leading to violations of NIT conditions and provisions of the CPWD manual."
Till March 2022, the total outstanding loan of the DJB and the interest to be paid stood at Rs 66,595 crore, the CAG audit stated.
According to another audit report, the DJB did not furnish proof of proper utilization of funds worth Rs 1,183.56 crore till the end of March 2022, by not submitting 10 Utilization Certificates (UCs), which is in violation of the General Financial Rules (GFR).
During the AAP government, 14 CAG reports were pending, which the BJP government has now started to release.