Chandrawal Phase-II water treatment plant’s operations halted on March 22 after a damaged 600 mm backwash pipeline flooded its pump house, disabling electrical and mechanical equipment. The plant, whose treatment units date to 1935 and 1955, has decades-old customised 6.6 kV motors with unavailable spare parts; residual moisture has caused repeated faults. The Delhi Jal Board restored pumping of 47 MGD on March 27, against 58 MGD capacity, but an 18 MGD pump set failed again. Full stabilisation was expected to take three more days. The plant has had outages for maintenance on July 20 and August 4, valve damage on August 18, a rising-line leak on November 16 and another leak on February 12. Supply was cut from twice daily to once daily in affected areas; around 100 additional tankers were deployed. Areas affected include Civil Lines, Kamla Nagar, Delhi University, Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Old Rajinder Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Inderlok and Rani Jhansi DDA complex. Residents also reported muddy water and shortages near Ramjas Ground, Tigri Extension and West Patel Nagar.

Delhi’s Chandrawal water treatment plant, part of the Delhi Water Supply Improvement Project (DWSIP), was stalled for over a decade by policy indecision, cancelled tenders and procedural lapses. It is intended to reduce transmission losses and provide reliable 24x7 water supply.

In September 2011, the Japan International Cooperation Agency completed a detailed study and submitted the Water Supply Master Plan-2021. The Chandrawal command area—covering Old Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Council areas, Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Rajinder Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Malkaganj, Naraina and adjoining areas—was selected for an upgrade. The project was designed to benefit about 22 lakh people, nearly 11% of Delhi’s population, across 96 square kilometres.

The Union Budget 2026-27 provided an additional ₹380 crore for the plant as an externally aided project. The Delhi government’s proposed share was increased from ₹313.8 crore to ₹713.3 crore; the state council of ministers approved ₹399 crore in November 2025.

A 105 million gallons per day (MGD) water treatment plant is under construction at Chandrawal for ₹599 crore and is expected to be commissioned later in 2026. Approved in 2012, it faced years of delays after repeated tender cancellations and non-compliance with Japan International Cooperation Agency guidelines, contributing to a cost escalation of nearly ₹400 crore.

The plant will serve around 11% of Delhi’s population and cover approximately 92 square kilometres, or 6.20% of the city. Pipeline replacement and distribution works cost ₹1,331 crore; two of the West Chandrawal, East Chandrawal and Central Chandrawal projects have been awarded. Work across nine Assembly constituencies includes Karol Bagh, Civil Lines, Kamla Nagar, Malka Ganj, Shadipur, Patel Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Naraina, Zakhira, New Rajendra Nagar, Hindu Rao, Idgah, Jhandewalan, Ridge Road, Ramlila Ground and Subhash Park.

The project also includes strengthening underground reservoirs, installing water meters, preventing contamination and setting up grievance redressal centres. The target is to cut non-revenue water from 30–45% to below 15% within three years.