Overview
- India’s 2025 CGWB quality report finds roughly 13–15% of Delhi groundwater samples above the BIS uranium limit of 30 ppb, placing the capital behind Punjab and Haryana.
- Exceedances rose from 13.25% pre-monsoon to 15.66% post-monsoon in 2024 sampling, indicating a modest seasonal uptick.
- The report flags overlapping risks including lead, nitrate, fluoride and high salinity, with Delhi recording SAR values up to 179.8 and the country’s highest RSC exceedance share, raising concerns about kidney damage and potential cancer risk from long-term exposure.
- Hotspots cited include Narela’s Auchandi (~42 ppb) and Kanjhawala’s Nizampur (~46.5 ppb), with earlier assessments noting a peak reading of about 89.4 ppb in North West district.
- Civil-society letters urge DJB to publish recent test results for about 5,500 tubewells and Ranney wells, disclose treatment protocols for roughly 450 MLD of groundwater supply, and implement CPCB-recommended source protection, targeted treatment and hotspot monitoring.