Delhi to Upgrade Water Supply With ₹2,500 Crore ADB-Backed Project

The Delhi government will undertake a major overhaul of the city's water supply system with the help of a ₹2,500 crore loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the Union Finance Ministry, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Tuesday. The project aims to modernise the entire water supply chain, from treatment plants and transmission networks to distribution pipelines and household connections, while reducing leakages and moving towards a reliable 24x7 pressurised water supply.

Under the arrangement, ADB will fund 70 per cent of the project and the Delhi government the remaining 30 per cent. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has approved Package-1 worth ₹805 crore and Package-2 worth ₹935 crore for the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant command area. The project will cover 43.96 sq km, nine underground reservoir command areas and eight Assembly constituencies, with around 836 km of distribution network, including nearly 570 km of new or replacement pipelines.

A key component is the creation of 131 District Metered Areas (DMAs) to track water entering the network, reaching consumers and being lost. Around 2.15 lakh household connections will receive 100 per cent metering, while smart meters and real-time monitoring will help detect leakages and illegal connections. The government has set a target of reducing non-revenue water (NRW) to 15 per cent.

The urgency is highlighted by a CAG audit, which found NRW at 51-53 per cent during 2017-22, with estimated financial losses of ₹4,988 crore. Transmission losses rose from 16 per cent in 2017 to 21 per cent in 2022, while potable-water availability fell below 20 GPCD in four zones and below 40 GPCD in eight zones, against a requirement of 60 GPCD.

The Wazirabad project, estimated at ₹2,574 crore, has been under consideration for years and received in-principle approval from the central screening committee in August 2026. The Wazirabad plant accounts for about 13.4 per cent of Delhi's water supply and serves nearly 2.6 million people. ADB's framework also proposes pro-poor connections and affordability measures.

The initiative forms part of a wider ₹11,427 crore water-network plan for West and Southwest Delhi, expected to benefit 36.4 lakh people and strengthen nearly 3,830 km of network. The government is also advancing 28 decentralised STPs worth ₹2,990 crore, alongside completed WTPs of 50 MGD in Dwarka, 105 MGD in Chandrawal and 2 MGD in Bawana.

With Delhi facing a persistent supply-demand challenge, the government is betting on smart metering, network rehabilitation and leakage reduction to ensure more treated water reaches households rather than being lost before consumption.