10 water samples to be tested in Delhi’s Janakpuri

The tribunal issued the order while hearing a plea filed by the RWA, which alleged that sewage was seeping into the area’s drinking water supply

New Delhi

The results are to be submitted by December 8. (Representative photo)

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the Janakpuri’s A-1 Block residents’ welfare association (RWA) to jointly collect and test drinking water samples from 10 houses on November 20, owing to repeated complaints of sewage contamination and conflicting water quality reports.

The tribunal issued the order while hearing a plea filed by the RWA, which alleged that sewage was seeping into the area’s drinking water supply. The bench, headed by NGT chairperson justice Prakash Shrivastava, noted inconsistencies in the water test reports submitted by different agencies in recent months, and called for fresh testing after noting that a new water pipeline of 730 metres was expected to be completed by November 20.

“The sample analysis reports have been placed on record by the Applicant, the DJB, and the CPCB, and certain contradictions in those reports have been pointed out. Therefore, we direct that all three will jointly take the tap water samples from the 10 flats as may be indicated by the Applicant on November 20, 2025, and get them analysed from their own reliable labs and submit the report before the Tribunal,” the order dated October 30 said.

The results are to be submitted by December 8.

So far, four rounds of testing by different agencies had detected faecal contamination in the area’s drinking water. A CPCB report in September found “very high bacterial contamination”, with faecal coliform levels in some houses reaching 16 million units -- a parameter that should be zero in potable water. The DJB, on the other hand, claimed that only supply to three of 50 tested houses showed contamination.

According to the DJB, a new 730-metre-long drinking water pipeline was being laid to permanently address the issue. “Out of the 730 meters, 480 meters of work has been completed. The remaining stretch will be finished by November 15, and water supply through the new pipeline will start by November 20,” the DJB’s counsel told the tribunal, adding that the delay was caused by the monsoon.