The water and sewer pipelines in the national capital are as old as 50 years, official documents from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) show. The documents seen by CNN-News18 also show that no fixed timeline has been set for the replacement of these old pipelines.
As per the DJB, parts of the Tri Nagar assembly constituency have sewer and drinking water pipelines that are “40–50 years old”. Parts of these pipelines were changed from time to time “wherever serious problems were found”.
The DJB documents, in Hindi, also stated that all these aged pipelines are not in a dilapidated state. And as and when problems were reported due to old pipelines, repairs or replacement work was carried out as per the requirements.
Speaking to News18, a DJB official explained
that pipeline repair or replacement is planned not on the basis of age, but on ground condition, reported problems, and technical feasibility.
“Changing pipelines is an ongoing process. But age is not the only factor that drives the need. A lot of other factors, including the condition of the pipelines, the frequency and nature of complaints from people, and the technical assessment of the area, also play an important role,” they said, demanding anonymity.
The DJB, in its documents, has stated that changing these pipelines—both sewer and drinking water—will be carried out in a phased manner on the basis of priority, depending on budget, technical approvals, and necessity.
Apart from Tri Nagar, parts of the Shakur Basti assembly constituency also have sewer and drinking water pipelines that are over 30 to 45 years old.
The Delhi Jal Board also acknowledged that in various colonies under the Shakur Basti assembly constituency, several sewer and water pipelines are in a dilapidated condition and are being replaced as per requirement.
The areas included Rishi Nagar, Rani Bagh, Sainik Vihar, Sant Nagar, West Enclave, Tarun Enclave, Saraswati Vihar, Pushpanjali Enclave, Gulabi Mohalla, and A-3 and A-4 blocks of Paschim Vihar, State Bank Nagar Paschim Vihar, Paschim Puri, and Mangolpuri Industrial Area Phase-2.
The Jal Board has assured that these worn-out sewer and drinking water pipelines will be replaced in a phased manner, subject to the availability of resources, in the coming financial years.
The DJB is responsible for the production and distribution of potable water after treating raw water from various sources, including Yamuna, Bhakhra Storage, Upper Ganga Canal, and groundwater. It also provides treatment and disposal of wastewater.
Earlier this month, cabinet minister Parvesh Verma had informed the Delhi assembly that about 8,000 km of water supply pipelines are two to three decades old and need complete replacement.
Of these 8,000 km, almost 5,000 km are older than 30 years,, and another 3,000 km are two decades old. Delhi has close to 16,000 km of water supply network.
The minister said these aged pipelines have outlived their life and are the root cause of contamination, leakages, and supply losses.
The complete replacement will take close to ten years. However, he assured that the work is expected to start soon, with tendering expected in the next few months.
During the current financial year, close to 50,000 water contamination complaints have already been filed from parts of Delhi, according to DJB data accessed by CNN-News18.
While this is not an unusually high tally for complaints registered with DJB, the water supply contamination has been gathering attention after 15 people died and several others were hospitalised due to consuming contaminated water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura.
The contamination of water in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly caused by sewage leakage that led to mass hospital visits.
In May 2025, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) pulled up the DJB, along with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), for alleged contamination of drinking water supplied to residents of Janakpuri. The Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) in March 2025 had alleged that sewage had mixed with the drinking water due to corroded pipelines caused by a blocked sewer line.
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