Delhi lost water bodies to administrative failure

Delhi, among the most water-stressed cities in the world, has lost close to half of the water bodies it officially lists. This summer, when the hottest days saw temperatures rise to almost 50 degree Celsius, the city’s struggle with water adequacy was underlined by visuals of women and children running after water tankers even as the Aam Aadmi Party government approached the courts to get neighbouring Haryana to release more water. Against an average daily demand of close to 1,400 million gallons, the city got somewhere between 978 and 938 million gallons per day during the peak heat period of May-June.

So, the loss is colossal, and in more ways than one. It has likely contributed to the unprecedented waterlogging in the Capital this monsoon, given the water bodies would have served as avenues for run-off to collect. And water bodies play a crucial role in moderating the city’s micro-climate, recharging surrounding aquifers and protecting biodiversity.

For a city that is almost entirely dependent on neighbours for water, losing close to half of its water bodies to encroachment and other factors points at abject administrative failure. Indeed, over the past decade or so, there have been several reports of the Capital’s water bodies being converted into unauthorised settlements, dump yards, even a hospital. Delhi has yet to notify a single wetland seven years after the Union government made this mandatory for all states and Union Territories. The fact that the Wetland Authority of Delhi has met only five times since it was set up in 2019 — last in September 2021 — indicates alarming inertia in the face of growing water insecurity. Whether assigning monitoring duties to a clutch of officers, as is being proposed, can protect Delhi’s remaining water bodies remains to be seen.

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