Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Shri Devender Yadav said that what Delhi Congress has been saying, supported with facts and figures for the past 12 years, that most parts of Delhi thirst for drinking water and in many colonies, residents have to either depend on the tanker mafia or spend huge sums for purchasing bottled water from the market, has been validated by a water audit conducted by a private agency Greenpeace India. He said that the water audit has pointed out a huge gap in the supply and demand for water and residents incur high costs for purchasing water from shops. He said that water is a basic right of the people, their right to life in fact, yet, in a lopsided priority, the Rekha Gupta Government has not given any attention to address this vital aspect of existential crisis facing the residents of the Capital.
Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav cites Greenpeace audit to expose massive water supplyDevender Yadav said that the Aam Aadmi Party Government ruined Delhi with the so-called “free” water promise, as residents neither got free water nor even potable water through the Delhi Jal Board pipelines. He said that the water supplied, that too in fits and starts, during the AAP regime, was unfit for human consumption, forcing residents to depend on the tanker mafia or bottled water from the market for their daily consumption. He said that the Kejriwal Government’s deal with the tanker mafia virtually handed over the potable water supply into the hands of the water mafia to inflict huge financial burden on the common people and pushed the once-profit-making DJB into a debt trap of Rs 63,000 crore.
Demand gap; slams AAP’s tanker mafia nexus and BJP’s failure to install promised water
Devender Yadav said that the BJP, in its “Sankalp Patra” (manifesto) for the Delhi Assembly elections, had made several promises among them were “free and clean water”, and if BJP comes to power, “Our government will not make any excuses or blame others for the problems related to Delhi’s health, traffic, electricity, water, transport, etc”. and will find “effective solutions by collaborating with the neighbouring states”. He said that the. BJP had also promised that “we will install water ATMs to provide clean drinking water in JJ clusters; continue providing free water to JJ clusters’ residents; will implement the Jal Jeevan Mission and effectively address the issue of polluted water in JJ clusters” but none of this was implemented. He said that a disturbing fact about the agency’s findings is that 200 families in the Mansarovar Park in West Delhi spend Rs 60 lakh annually for purchasing drinking water, and over all, 34% people of Delhi purchase water from private supplies, including bottled water, and 34% of households spend 15% of their budget for water, 1.e Rs 80 to 100 daily for bottled water.
ATMs and provide clean, free water
Devender Yadav said that it was shocking that the BJP could install just 24 water ATMs by June despite the Delhi Government’s announcement in April 2025 that 3000 water ATMs will be installed. He said that the BJP has not fulfilled any of its election promises, including Rs 2500 per month to every woman, and the Government seems to be least concerned about the water woes of the residents, as most households end up spending Rs 6000 to Rs 10,000 for purchasing drinking water every month, which exposes the failure of the BJP Government.
