Let civic agency manage Delhi's water supply: Mayor

New Delhi - At a time when the national capital is reeling under a water crisis, mayor of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Meera Aggarwal Friday said the civic agency should be given back its task of managing water supply in the city.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled corporation strongly opposed the Delhi government's move to privatise water supply, saying it is an attempt to "conceal incompetence".

"Water supply should be transferred back to the newly created three municipal bodies in Delhi in accordance with the 74th Constitutional Amendment which talks about giving more powers to local bodies," Aggarwal said.

The BJP mayor has also written a letter to Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna demanding that Delhi Fire Service, Slum and JJ Department be re-transferred to the civic corporations.

"If the Delhi government feels that water supply should be privatised, then it shows it is not capable of managing water distribution itself. Just to conceal their incompetence, the water distribution system is been privatised," Aggarwal added.

Delhi, with over 18 million people, needs around 1,100 million gallons of water a day. Officially, the supply is falling short by 50 million gallons.

While the establishment of Delhi Jal Board in 1998 took away the task of water distribution and sewage system from the civic corporation, Delhi Fire Service had been taken away from the municipality much before.

This was followed by the handing over of the Slum and JJ Department to the Delhi government in 2010.