20,000 litres of free water to Delhi homes from Jan 1, review in 3 months

mangaloretoday.com

New Delhi, Dec 30:  Arvind Kejriwal has kept his promise to Delhi. On Monday, his third day as Delhi chief minister, he announced the supply of 20 kilolitres a month (almost 700 litres a day) of free water for Delhi households from January 1, 2014. Mr Kejriwal was unwell and had to skip office today, but chaired a meeting of the Delhi Jal Board at his apartment in Ghaziabad.

 

Here are the 10 latest developments in the big story:

    Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party government will review the free water decision after three months. An official announced that all households with functional water metres can avail the free water. Those who use more will have to pay for the entire amount.

    The new Chief Minister tweeted this morning, "It was so important to attend office today. We had planned the water announcement. God, bahut galat time par bimaar kiya (have fallen ill at the wrong time.)"

    His Aam Aadmi Party also asked well-wishers and supporters in a tweet to stop flocking to his home, saying he needed to rest.

    The Delhi cabinet said it would meet the public at the government’s headquarters at noon. But after word got out that Mr Kejriwal was not in office, virtually nobody showed up to meet the ministers.

Rakhi Birla, the 25-year-old minister, showed up at work in an auto-rickshaw, reinforcing the Aam Aadmi Party’s determination to present itself as a party of the people.

Mr Kejriwal and his ministers have declared war on Delhi’s VIP culture. They have said no government official will use the red beacon or lal batti that gives politicians’ cars the right of way. They’ve also refused escort vehicles and security.

Yesterday, Mr Kejriwal, was visibly unwell as he addressed a large group that had gathered outside his flat in Ghaziabad, a Delhi suburb, seeking his intervention on different issues. The 45-year-old chief minister asked for "7-10 days" to set up a process for receiving requests and complaints.

There was no announcement today on the 10% increase in the price of water expected from January 1.

Mr Kejriwal has also vowed to halve the prices of electricity. Mr Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have alleged that power distribution companies colluded with officials in earlier governments to over-charge Delhi for power.

Sources say the new government is likely to order an audit of electricity companies in the next 48 hours. The government is also reportedly planning to reduce power price by 50% by providing a huge subsidy.