The curious case of Delhi’s disappearing water bodies

Delhi's disappearing water bodies face encroachment, hindering flood mitigation efforts, because of government inaction and lack of wetland protection.

The area next to the primary school run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in East Delhi’s Khichripur is like many other parts of the city: a group of shacks, stinking from the overflowing waste dump, and the cattle rummaging through it. But the nondescript neighbourhood successfully hides a secret – it used to be a water body.

Like many others, the location has been categorised for years in Delhigovernment records as an “encroached” water body, without any chance of recovery. It is a small part of the larger story of how water bodies have disappeared from the city’s landscape.

Despite Delhi witnessing the worst flood in its history last year, there seems to be no improvement in the miserable state of water bodies in the city, which could hold extra water and help in flood mitigation.

In fact, the situation is actually getting worse. Official data accessed by The Hindu shows that the different government agencies that control these areas have requested the ‘deletion’ of 232 water bodies – over 22% of the 1,045 water bodies in Delhi – from the official records, due to encroachment and other reasons.

The number of deletion requests received by the Wetland Authority of Delhi (WAD) has increased from 214 in 2022 to 232 in 2024. Data shows that there is hardly ever any recovery of water bodies from such encroachments.

Despite calls and messages, the Delhi government did not offer any official comment on the issue. However, a Delhi government official said that they have not yet deleted any water body from the official list despite requests by different government bodies.

Over a year ago, Geospatial Delhi Limited (GSDL), a Delhi government-owned company, used satellite images to identify 321 more water bodies in Delhi. However, the details of these water bodies and who owns them are yet to ascertained, multiple officials confirmed to The Hindu.