Indore’s water crisis underscores the urgent need for reforms under India’s ambitious Amrit drinking water mission.
Contaminated drinking water in Indore sickens hundreds and kills several, highlighting urgent need for improved water management and accountability across India (Photo: Pinterest)
NEW DELHI: India's repeated winner of the "cleanest city" award, Indore, is currently facing a grave contaminated water crisis. Hundreds of people have fallen ill and several have died after sewage-mixed water was supplied through household taps. Large numbers of residents were hospitalised with severe symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and stomach pain. Thousands have been affected, including children, the elderly and entire families.
This is not merely a local health emergency in Indore, but a warning for the entire country about water quality, water management and the strength of civic safety systems. From Delhi to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana and Punjab, polluted drinking water remains a serious concern, demanding faster and more coordinated action by state and central governments.
The Indore tragedy should also serve as a wake-up call for India's ambitious "Amrit" drinking water mission, and for civil society organisations that must intensify independent monitoring of polluted water and air. The Indore episode highlights gaps in responsibility, technical oversight and accountability among administrators, engineers and civic authorities. Unsafe water directly damages health, lives and public trust. This is the moment for firm reforms, transparency and enforceable accountability so that such tragedies are not repeated.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief and announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the families of the deceased. A three-member committee has been constituted to investigate how contamination occurred, and some officials have already been dismissed or suspended. Even before the inquiry, preliminary findings point to pipeline leakages or faulty connections that allowed sewage to enter drinking water lines. Reports also suggest that a sewage chamber was wrongly constructed above the main drinking water pipeline, enabling waste to flow directly into the supply.
Delhi itself can be taken as a model for reform. Delhi faces not only water scarcity in summer but also severe quality problems. These arise from pollution in the Yamuna, unstable raw water sources, ageing supply networks vulnerable to sewage ingress, and weak quality testing and laboratory certification. As a result, many localities receive foul-smelling and unsafe water.
During the previous Aam Aadmi Party government, residents of East Delhi complained for nearly three months of dirty, odorous water, leading to skin and stomach ailments. The Supreme Court has also ordered inspections of areas receiving irregular and contaminated water. Most of Delhi's drinking water comes from the Yamuna, which is heavily polluted. Reports show high ammonia levels and other contaminants even before the water reaches treatment plants, affecting final supply quality. Many pipelines are 40 to 80 years old, increasing the risk of leakage and sewage mixing. The government has acknowledged this and launched plans to overhaul water and sewer infrastructure.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has now made water supply, infrastructure, Yamuna cleaning and strengthening the Delhi Jal Board a top priority. The board has been given greater financial autonomy so that large projects no longer require cabinet approval, reducing delays. The BJP government has also launched a Yamuna rejuvenation drive. In its first budget, Rs 9,000 crore has been allocated for drinking water, sanitation and water infrastructure, covering new borewells, pipeline upgrades, rainwater harvesting and river cleaning. The board has earmarked Rs 735 crore to modernise water and sewer infrastructure, including pipeline replacement and underground reservoirs. A Rs 300-crore new pipeline project covering 11 kilometres has also been initiated to stabilise supply and reduce ammonia and contamination. While some improvements are visible, full results will take time, and stronger implementation, monitoring and quality testing are still needed.
At the national level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government launched the Jal Jeevan Mission under the slogan "Har Ghar Nal Se Jal" to provide tap water to every rural household, alongside the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrit) for urban water supply. In the 2025-26 Union Budget, around Rs 67,000 crore was allocated for the Jal Jeevan Mission, sharply higher than the previous year's Rs 29,916 crore. The mission's overall budget for 2019-24 was Rs 3.60 lakh crore, jointly funded by the Centre and states, and its deadline has now been extended to 2028.
Before the mission, only about 3.24 crore rural homes had tap connections. Today, more than 15.5 crore households—around 80 per cent of rural India—have been connected. Over 2.66 lakh villages have achieved household tap coverage, and women in many areas have been trained to test water quality locally.
The Amrit mission, launched in 2015, focuses on strengthening urban water supply and sewerage. Its second phase, Amrit 2.0, launched in October 2021, targets universal urban tap connections across more than 4,700 cities and towns. The total budget is estimated between Rs 2.77 lakh crore and Rs 2.99 lakh crore, with the Centre contributing about Rs 86,760 crore for water networks, storage tanks and household pipelines.
States are also pushing ahead. Uttar Pradesh is implementing large drinking water projects in Bareilly and Kanpur under Amrit 2.0, though some delays have been reported due to funding and staffing issues. Madhya Pradesh claims major progress under the Jal Jeevan Mission, particularly in the Ujjain division, while in Bhopal a Rs 582-crore project aims to achieve 100 per cent network coverage within three years. Yet in some areas, tanker dependence persists, highlighting execution challenges. Rajasthan has approved investments of around Rs 5,120 crore to expand urban tap connections in 176 towns, along with Rs 5,184 crore for major Jal Jeevan Mission projects. Bihar is pursuing large schemes such as the Ganga Water Lift Project to supply safe water to southern districts. Other states must accelerate implementation, while public awareness and community monitoring remain essential to ensure that "Amrit" truly delivers safe, drinkable water across India.
