Blame game: 675 slums, 0 sewers
New Delhi: A long-running environmental case before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has exposed a glaring gap in Delhi’s sanitation system, with two key agencies, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), shifting responsibility for laying sewer lines in slum clusters, leaving hundreds of settlements without basic infrastructure.
Submissions made before the tribunal show that both bodies have denied accountability, each claiming the task falls under the other’s jurisdiction. As a result, around 675 slum clusters across the Capital continue to function without sewer connectivity, with waste flowing into stormwater drains and open nallas.
In its affidavit, DUSIB clarified that its mandate is limited to constructing pavements, stormwater drains and public toilet complexes, and does not include laying sewer pipelines in Jhuggi Jhopri clusters. It stated that this responsibility lies with DJB. However, DJB, in its own filings, argued that it cannot establish sewage treatment systems in these areas without a prior sewer network, which, according to it, must be developed by DUSIB.
The matter is being heard by an NGT bench led by Justice Prakash Shrivastava, in a case originally filed over a decade ago by the Nizamuddin West Association regarding untreated sewage entering the Yamuna through the Defence Colony drain and Barapullah.
Data submitted by DUSIB indicates that sewage from these clusters is largely discharged into drains, while waste from nearly 680 public toilet complexes is either connected to existing sewer lines or diverted to septic tanks. Household waste, however, often has no proper disposal system.
The DJB informed the tribunal that 17 out of 43 identified drains have been tapped, while work on 22 more is underway. However, two major drains, carrying nearly 40 million litres of untreated sewage daily from areas such as Mehrauli, Chhatarpur and Saket, remain untreated due to pending environmental clearances.
Adding to the concerns, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has faced scrutiny over claims of securing the Defence Colony drain. Fresh submissions, backed by photographic evidence, suggest that several sections remain open and hazardous.
With multiple agencies locked in a jurisdictional dispute, the tribunal is set to review the matter again, as untreated sewage continues to flow into the Yamuna, underscoring persistent governance and coordination challenges.
