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People must understand that water resources in the Capital are finite, despite its growing population, Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma said on Tuesday, as he stressed the need for the city to “manage every drop more efficiently” amid an acute water crisis that has persisted for more than 10 days.
The government, he said, is working on a water rationalisation project and infrastructure modernisation measures to ensure equal distribution of water supply across the city, in what he described as one of the most extensive overhauls of Delhi’s water management system in recent years.
“People should understand that Delhi’s water resources are finite while its population continues to grow. The answer is not only to bring more water to Delhi but also to manage every drop more efficiently. We are building a system that can serve Delhi not just today, but for decades to come,” Verma said at a press conference, adding that the government is pursuing both immediate and long-term interventions.
Verma said that complaints related to water supply have increased over the past several days. “Due to the dry spell in the Yamuna, water production has been reduced by around 100 million gallons per day (MGD). There are only 12-13 assemblies from where we get complaints every summer,” he said.
“This imbalance has existed for years. We are now working on a water rationalisation project to ensure that every citizen, irrespective of where they live, gets equitable access to water based on population.”
According to officials, the project will assess population density, water demand, supply patterns, and existing infrastructure across localities to create a more balanced distribution system.
Also read: Hauz khas and others: Water shortage turns into contamination crisis in parts of Delhi
Meanwhile, assembly constituency-wise data shared by the Delhi government on Wednesday showed massively uneven distribution of water supply in the city, with some areas receiving more than five times the quantity of water per capita than those with the least. According to government data accessed by HT for May 31 – which officials familiar with the matter said reflects the general trend the past few weeks – at the bottom end was Karawal Nagar, which received just 55 litres of water supply per capita, followed by Mustafabad (67 litres), Sangam Vihar (75), Badarpur (80) and Kirari (80). At the other end of the spectrum, Ballimaran constituency was supplied 279 litres of water per capita. Malviya Nagar received 275 litres per capita, followed by Rohini (262), Matia Mahal (250) and Timarpur (244).
To be sure, despite the gap and recent disruptions, Verma insisted that the city has received fewer complaints this year. According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, Delhi’s residential areas have a requirement of 135 litres per capita per day.
Verma said that though the complaints have increased in the past few days, these are relatively low compared to previous years. He said that for April and May, there were 43,365 complaints in 2022, 32,459 in 2023, 45,294 in 2024, 30,096 in 2025 and only 27,074 this year. These complaints pertained to dirty water, no water supply or no tanker availability.
Verma also identified ageing infrastructure as a major factor behind water losses, adding that nearly 5,500km, or 33%, of Delhi’s 16,634km water distribution network is more than three decades old and vulnerable to leakages and contamination. Another 19%, or roughly 3,000 km, is around 25-30 years old. “These ageing lines are prone to leakages and contamination. Huge quantities of treated water are lost. We have started a mission to replace these old pipelines ,” he said.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is also moving ahead with measures to reduce water lost through leakages, theft and inefficiencies. Under consideration is converting the open Delhi Sub Branch (DSB) Canal into a pipeline system. “Nearly 40%-45% of water is lost through the DSB canal system. IIT Roorkee has been engaged to conduct a feasibility study. Once the canal is converted into a pipeline-based system, water losses will reduce and supply efficiency will improve significantly,” Verma said. The government also plans to introduce a dual piping system, under which treated recycled water will be supplied separately for non-potable, while freshwater will be reserved for drinking and domestic consumption, he said.
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