Delhi's Water Minister told the Delhi Assembly on January 9, 2026 that the city's non-revenue water losses run "up to 55 per cent", while a report the following month put them at 30-45%. Delhi Jal Board is preparing to pay private operators partly on how far they cut those losses. It does not yet have a single measured figure to pay them against.
Four figures, one city
The Master Plan for Delhi 2041 baseline cites a loss rate of 47% from a 2011 JICA study, which also found working meters on only 14.62 lakh of 22.45 lakh connections. A March 2026 report gave 45%. In a Vasant Vihar pilot area, losses were reported to have fallen from 62% to 10%.
The operator model arrives first
On September 30, 2026 the Board approved a Rs 17,969 crore "One Zone, One Operator" sewer program over 10 years, with payments linked to performance. In March 2026 the Water Minister said tenders for private management of the Board's eight command centers would follow within a year. An Intelligent Command and Control Centre, combining SCADA, GIS, complaint and vehicle data, went live on October 14, 2026.
Meters follow
Two area projects would add smart meters. The ADB-assisted Wazirabad project plans 100% metering of about 2.15 lakh household connections across 131 District Metered Areas, with a 15% loss target. The Rs 6,044.05 crore South Delhi project covers 2,44,381 domestic consumers. Together they would reach up to about 4.6 lakh households, roughly 15% of Delhi's about 30 lakh registered connections.
How the Board's budgets, debt of more than Rs 70,000 crore and climate exposure bear on this model, and which commitments fall due before the May 2029 Yamuna pledge, are set out in the report. The full report, Water Utility of the Future: Delhi Jal Board, is available for USD 499. For a free overview, read the Delhi Jal Board Utility Snapshot.