A CAG audit found that Delhi Jal Board tests water quality against only 12 of the 43 parameters mandated by BIS — a 28% completion rate that would get you fired from most jobs but apparently qualifies you to supply drinking water to 20 million people. Meanwhile, 55% of groundwater samples tested unfit for drinking, and 51-53% of all water produced simply vanishes as "non-revenue water."
The CAG's Performance Audit Report, laid before the Delhi Legislative Assembly on March 23, 2026, paints a portrait of a water utility that has achieved a remarkable state of organized ignorance about its own operations. The Delhi Jal Board has no flow meters at water treatment plants, reservoirs, or bore wells — meaning it literally cannot measure how much water it produces, stores, or distributes. Of the water it does produce, only 40% gets billed to anyone, and of that billed amount, only 66% uses actual meter readings. The rest is estimated, which in bureaucratic terms means 'made up.' Water quality testing fell far short of BIS norms, covering only 12 of 43 required parameters — the equivalent of a doctor checking your pulse and declaring you cancer-free. The financial damage: ₹4,988 crore in revenue losses from non-revenue water, while the utility sits on outstanding loans and interest of ₹66,595 crore as of March 2022. Raw water shortage increased from 22% to 24%, and four zones received less than 20 gallons per capita daily against a required 60. DJB has essentially perfected the art of losing water, losing money, and losing track of both simultaneously.