Haryana Assures Delhi of 1,000 Cusecs of Water Daily via Munak Canal
On Saturday, the Haryana government assured the Delhi government that it will maintain a minimum daily water supply of 1,000 cusecs through the Munak Canal. The assurance, announced by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, aims to resolve a severe raw water shortage in Delhi that has caused the city's water production to drop significantly below its targets.
Chief Minister Gupta shared the development following a review meeting and discussions with Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. The agreement comes as several parts of Delhi face water scarcity.
According to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials, Delhi had recently been receiving only between 900 and 924 cusecs of water through the Munak Canal. This deficit contributed to a drop in the DJB's targeted water production. For several days, the board was unable to maintain its target of 1,000 million gallons per day (MGD), with output falling by approximately 90 MGD.
To mitigate the immediate crisis, Chief Minister Gupta announced that the Delhi government is working to deploy more than 980 water tankers. These tankers are scheduled to make over 6,000 daily trips to distribute water to the affected areas.
Delhi relies heavily on neighboring states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh for its raw water supply, as the landlocked capital has no independent source. The city's municipal water demand ranges between 1,250 and 1,380 MGD during peak summer periods, while peak production typically hovers between 935 and 1,000 MGD. This creates a persistent daily deficit of more than 300 MGD.
Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, who also attended the review meeting, noted that the situation was further complicated by a drop in the Yamuna River's water level at the Wazirabad Barrage. The water level at the Wazirabad pond fell from its normal level of 674.5 feet to nearly 668 feet due to a dry spell. This drop alone reduced water production by 80 to 100 MGD.
In response to the Wazirabad shortage, officials have diverted additional raw water from the Carrier Line Canal and set up emergency pumping systems in the dry riverbed to contribute about 40 MGD of raw water.
