The Delhi Jal Board said it will divide the city into "seven or eight" zones and place each zone under one vendor for operation, maintenance and management of its water supply and sewer networks to bring efficiency and fix accountability.

The vendors will be awarded contracts for 10 years, officials said.

"Earlier, the DJB would float separate tenders for different works in an area, which would be carried out by different vendors. Now, only one agency will carry out all the works in a particular area for a period of 10 years, an official said.

"After extensive discussions and deliberations at various levels to improve the services and bring efficient management in the water supply and sewerage system, it was decided to award the contracts to private operators in various zones of Delhi on the lines of 'One Zone-One Operator'," read a DJB statement.

The policy was approved at a DJB meeting chaired by Water Minister Satyendar Jain.

A consultancy firm will be employed to help demarcate the zones, officials said, adding that the city will be divided into seven to eight zones, excluding Malviya Nagar, Mehrauli-Vasant Vihar and Najafgarh-Nangloi.

The DJB manages about 14,500 km of water lines and 9,000 km of sewer lines.

It said only online applications will be accepted for new water and sewer connections and those who cannot apply online can call the Mobile Sahayak on 1076 for doorstep delivery of public services.

A proposal to install 200 tube wells in the floodplains of Palla was also approved during the meeting to meet the additional demand for water in the summer season.

Around 65 million gallons of water a day can be extracted from the floodplain region against the existing provision for 32-35 MGD.

This article has not been edited by Water Today staff and sourced from PTI