New Delhi: Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav has accused the Delhi BJP-led government of evading responsibility for the ongoing water crisis in the capital, blaming it on disputes with the Punjab government. He said that despite being in power for over three months, the BJP government has failed to come up with a viable solution to the city’s drinking water shortage during the summer—a failure he described as both a betrayal and a deception of Delhi’s residents.
Yadav pointed out that the BJP had repeatedly promised before and after coming to power that it would ensure there would be no water shortage in Delhi. However, the reality is that the citizens are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing political tug-of-war between the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Even before resorting to water supply through tankers, the BJP has already shown its failure in providing tap water to every household in Delhi.
Highlighting the figures, Yadav stated that Delhi requires approximately 1,290 million gallons per day (MGD) of water, while the Delhi Jal Board produces only around 995 MGD of treated water. Shockingly, about 58.28% of this is lost due to leakages and theft. He urged the BJP government to focus on eliminating the tanker mafia, plugging leakages, and rooting out corruption within the Jal Board, which is incurring an annual revenue loss of Rs 17,575 crore due to these issues.
Yadav also criticized Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for making public announcements without taking concrete action to improve water supply. Despite having BJP governments in both Delhi and Haryana, he said the Chief Minister has failed to secure additional water from Haryana. Currently, around 76 lakh people are affected due to the disruption of 270 MGD of water supply from Punjab to Haryana.
He emphasized the need for a strategic approach to replenishing Delhi’s groundwater and reviving the city’s water bodies. As per records, Delhi has 1,367 water bodies on paper. However, the 2021 revenue records confirmed the existence of only 1,045, with 322 more identified by GADL. Yet, in reality, only 631 water bodies exist, just 43 of which serve as major water sources, and only 237 remain usable. Yadav urged the BJP government to prioritize restoring these critical water sources.
Finally, Yadav questioned why the BJP and AAP—despite being in power at different levels—cannot cooperate to resolve Delhi’s water crisis instead of engaging in blame games. He accused both parties of politicizing the issue rather than acting in the public’s interest. He concluded by stressing that ensuring access to drinking water for Delhi’s growing population should be treated as a major challenge requiring urgent and sincere action.
