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Water and Electricity: the economics behind AAP's basic promises

As the Aam Admi Party (AAP) inches towards a clear majority in Delhi Assembly Elections 2015 eyes are upon them to deliver on their promises. 

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Arvind Kejriwal
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As the Aam Admi Party (AAP) inches towards a clear majority in Delhi Assembly Elections 2015 eyes are upon them to deliver on their promises. 

The two major issues that AAP fought this elections on is water and electricity. 

dna looks at the two promises made by AAP and the issues that it faces. 

Electricity
AAP said that electricity distribution companies supply power to Delhi at rates carrying from Rs 1.2 per unit to Rs 12.21 per unit. According to AAP, since Delhi has limited power generation capacity of its own, the prices per unit that the citizens have to pay are high because the city has to rely on external sources for power. 

AAP's solution is that Delhi sets up its own power plant either own its own or in collaboration with other players at the most economical rates and locations. 

However, setting up of power plants don't come cheap. A fresh 1000-MW power plant can take anywhere between 3-5 years to come up and may entail costs at least Rs 5,000 crore, an analyst said. 

In this scenario, not only setting up a new power plant for Delhi is unviable in the short term but also expensive. Even if the new Delhi government under the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal decides to follow the route one can be assured that the results won't come anytime soon. 

Making sure that electricity theft in Delhi comes down and the citizens pay their bills fair can  be a good start. 

Water
AAP's 'Jal Swaraj' resonated well with the citizens of Delhi. 

For a city of 1.8 crore people where nearly 50 lakh don't get piped water supply, water is an issue that AAP will have to tackle firsthand. 

AAP says that it will provide 700 litre of free water to every household that has piped connection.

Although AAP says that this will encourage people to put up water meters and conserve water, experts have their doubts. 

Providing water to perched Delhi is going to be difficult as the city gets its water supply from external sources. 

Its solutions like Yamuna Revival and Rainwater harvesting sound good on paper but implementation is surely going to take time. 

Moreover, the Munak canal in Haryana needs to supply more water to Delhi as per the order of the High Court and AAP intends to ensure its implementation. 

Also, AAP's plan to operationalise water treatment plants in Dwarka, Bawana and Okhla is likely to improve water situation in Delhi. 

AAP wants Delhi Jal Board to save Rs 1000 crore annually which is lost due to corruption and mismanagement. However, this isn't going to be enough if Delhi needs to meet its water demands. 

AAP claims that Delhi's water woes are due to mismanagement and inequitable distribution of water. 

With only plans that entails spending and only a 10% increase in water bills as the main source of increasing income of Delhi Jal Board, the mammoth task that AAP has put in front of itself looks difficult at the moment. 

Plugging water leaks and a clampdown on  water mafia in the state is going to be challenging and one can only hope that AAP manages to do it. 

How AAP is going to do it is something everyone is watching with hawk's eye. 

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