In Delhi, Sangam Vihar residents battle scarcity amidst tanker mafia monopoly

With the onset of summer, 40-year-old Lalit Maurya’s worries increase, as does his expenditure on water. Maurya, who has lived in the K-2 block of Delhi’s Sangam Vihar for the past 33 years, faces water scarcity all year, but it reaches its peak in May. Maurya and his family are completely reliant on water from private tankers to meet their needs. 

Sangam Vihar, located in the national capital’s Southeast district, is one of the city’s most densely populated unauthorised settlements. The government supply of water does not reach his home, Maurya told Down To Earth (DTE).

There is a government borewell in Maurya’s neighbourhood, but it is 500 metres away and only provides water for 30 to 40 minutes. Maurya’s house does not receive borewell water due to its distance and must rely on private tankers. Maurya typically orders a tanker every week.

On June 11, 2024, he ordered a 2,500-litre tanker for Rs 1,200 and is about to place the next order. He spends an average of Rs 12,000 on tanker water during the three months of summer (May-July).

In the remaining months, the family needs less water and tankers cost relatively less, but they still spend approximately Rs 30,000 on tankers each year. They have survived on tanker water like this for the past 10 years.

Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water is available in a limited quantity in Sangam Vihar. There are some borewells in the area, but their water supply is so restricted that it does not reach the majority of the residents.

There is also a severe water shortage in the L-1 Block, which is adjacent to K-2 Block and private tankers are the only reliable source of water. Mukesh Kumar, who lives in this block, claimed that DJB has few tankers that do not meet even 10 per cent of their needs. 

Read more: Tanker economy revealed: Nexus between water mafia and politicians controls supply in Bengaluru

“Due to collusion between private tanker mafia and DJB officials, water from government tankers is not delivered to the needy, allowing the tanker business to profit,” claimed Kumar.

He also orders at least one tanker of water per month to meet his needs. The tanker’s water is only used for bathing, washing clothes and cleaning utensils. Drinking water must be arranged separately.

Kumar and Maurya can order water from tankers because of their relatively good financial situation, but the majority of Sangam Vihar residents cannot. For example, Mohammad Arman, who lives in J-3 Block, must survive the entire month on water from the tubewell, which comes once a month. Arman cannot afford a tanker, so he stores 5,000 to 6,000 litres of water and uses it very sparingly. Arman, a courier, sometimes skips his bath to save water.

Madhur Gautam, who lives in F-3 Block, uses water in the same way. His house has six rooms, four of which are rented by tenants and the remaining two by his three family members. During the summer, his family frequently bathes with half a bucket of water each. His tenants also use dirty water from washing dishes or clothes to mop the floors. 

However, Gautam is forced to order a 2,000-litre tanker of water every month on average. One such tanker currently costs him Rs 1,800. The water from the borewell, which comes once a month, only lasts 15 days and tanker water must cover the rest. The resident is so fed up with the water shortage and rising costs that he intends to sell his house in Sangam Vihar.

Appu Prasad, who lives in the Gupta Colony of J Block, also regrets purchasing a home in the area. He recently purchased a 50-yard plot and is currently having a house built on it, having spent approximately Rs 30 lakh in total. Now he regrets his decision. 

Prasad’s home only gets water from the government tubewell once every one and a half days. Living under such conditions is becoming increasingly difficult. Most people on his street have water tanks inside and outside their homes that can store water for a month and a half. Most residents have built underground tanks inside their homes to store water, as well as tanks on their roofs and in the street. 

Sangam Vihar streets lined with water tanks. Photo: Bhagirath / CSE

There are many houses where water tanks occupy entire rooms. Prasad has also arranged to store 6,000-7,000 litres of water in his house.

According to a recent study conducted by the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in Sangam Vihar, this area with a population of more than 1 million receives only 45 litres of water per person per day from all sources combined, despite the fact that the central government’s standard for urban areas is 135 litres per day. This implies that only a third of the required quantity is available.  

The residents of the area spend an average of Rs 1,000 every month on water (drinking water and non-drinking water), the study found. Among the three water supply sources (tankers, borewells and piped supply), the residents primarily rely on tankers and borewell.

Tanker Raj

While residents of Sangam Vihar struggle to meet their water needs, the private tanker mafia in the area thrives due to a monopoly. During peak demand, the tanker operators raised prices by 200 to 300 per cent. A 2,000-litre tanker that costs Rs 600-700 in February-March costs around Rs 1,800 to 2,000 this summer. 

According to sources who asked to remain anonymous, these tanker mafias have connections to every political party. When power shifts, they switch sides and continue operating through collusion. Furthermore, the tanker mafias run a number of illegal borewells in Sangam Vihar and the Deoli area, which supply water to Sangam Vihar and a large portion of the surrounding area.

During its investigation, DTE observed two illegal borewells on Ratia Marg, the busiest road in Sangam Vihar. These borewells provide a continuous supply of water.

A young man who runs a shop near the borewell told DTE in hushed tones that approximately 60-70 tankers draw water from a single borewell each day. When this reporter approached the person managing the borewell as a potential customer for a water tanker, he did not engage much in conversation. 

He asked about the delivery location and then asked the reporter to leave. During the conversation, he took the phone number and promised to call back within half an hour with the tanker’s price. However, his call arrived after ten minutes, but the reporter was unable to answer the phone. 

The shopkeeper also stated that 4-5 tankers collect water from the borewell each day. This means that approximately 150,000 litres of water are extracted from the ground each day via these tankers and illegally sold.

This reporter also saw a building material shop with an illegal borewell at the back, right next to the house and a tanker filled with water. This shop has an illegal borewell of 600-700 feet in depth, from which water is drawn and stored in a large tank. 

The water from this tank is then filled into tankers and sold at high rates. Water from these two borewells is sold in J, I, K and F blocks of Sangam Vihar. Local residents claimed that this illegal water business was only possible with the connivance of politicians and officials.

A youth from K-2 Block, speaking anonymously, mentioned that he has had several confrontations with the local Member of the Legislative Assembly and councillor over water issues.

“Now I have lost hope. Politicians and officials call the area illegal and shirk their responsibility to provide water. Due to the water shortage, I am also preparing to sell my house and move elsewhere,” he said.