State water minister Parvesh Verma said on Friday that the government will soon introduce a policy to regularise domestic borewell connections, as part of which consumers will be issued clearances upon paying a nominal fee.

The minister, speaking at the Delhi Legislative Assembly, said that a large number of unauthorised borewells are currently functioning across the city, prompting authorities to issue notice to violators. He said that setting up a borewell currently necessitates multiple approvals, making the process cumbersome.

“The government plans to simplify the system. A new borewell policy will soon be introduced in Delhi, aimed at making it easier for residential users to obtain permission,” he said.

According to him, the chief minister has also instructed officials to streamline the procedure by removing the requirement for a no-objection certificate (NoC) from the district magistrate.

Verma, in August 2025, said that Delhi Jal Board (DJB) would be setting up an enforcement team to curb illegal borewells across the city and also introduce a clear, practical policy to regularise them.

Speaking in the Delhi Legislative Assembly on the findings of a Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on the DJB, he said it exposed years of systemic failures in water management, sewer infrastructure, and Yamuna cleaning.

The CAG report on the DJB’s functioning from 2017-2022 stated that the utility underestimated the Capital’s overall sewage generation by nearly a fifth, compromising efforts to clean the Yamuna. The report was tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Monday.

During the assembly session, several MLAs raised concerns about water supply, sewer issues, and local infrastructure challenges in their constituencies, Verma said.

“Those who were elected to raise the voice of the people chose to walk out. When the time came to answer on water, sewer, Yamuna, and corruption, they chose silence over accountability,” he said, hitting out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The CAG report flagged the lack of scientific planning for water demand and sewage treatment, along with facts, given that 200 million gallons a day (mgd) of untreated sewage was directly entering the Yamuna and that non-revenue water (NRW) losses rose to 45–53%.

Delhi currently requires approximately 1,200mgd of water, while the supply stands at around 1,000mgd, creating a persistent gap, he said. Pointing out that, beyond supply constraints, poor management and massive transmission losses have worsened the crisis.

“In most parts of the world, NRW losses are around 15%. In Delhi, they crossed 50%. This is not just leakage… it is a reflection of systemic failure,” Verma said.

He said that nearly 3 million households still lacked formal water connections, leading to illegal usage, inefficiency, and revenue loss.

Calling the Yamuna not just a river but a symbol of Delhi’s faith and identity, the minister said: “The biggest reason Yamuna appears polluted is untreated sewage. If we stop untreated discharge, Yamuna will revive.”

He said the government was working to construct and upgrade 35 sewage treatment plants (STPs) to global standards, expand treatment capacity to 1,500mgd for future needs, ensure in-situ treatment of major drains, including Najafgarh drain, and strictly monitor sewage discharge and quality. On water treatment, he said that within two-and-a-half years, Delhi will have more treatment capacity than sewage generation.

Verma said that the government plans to supply treated water to parks and horticulture, for use in construction activities and to reduce dependence on freshwater sources.