India, Oct. 1 -- The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Wednesday approved a Rs.17,969-crore plan to overhaul the Capital's sewer network by dividing the city into eight zones and placing the entire network in each zone under a single private operator, officials aware of the plan said.

Under the 10-year "One Zone, One Operator" model, each operator will be responsible for the repair, maintenance and management of all sewer infrastructure in its zone, including sewer lines, manholes, pumping stations and consumer complaints. The model, senior DJB officials aware of the matter said, is similar to the power distribution system, under which four private discoms operate in four zones of Delhi.

DJB currently maintains 11,212km of sewer lines, 668,000 m...