Delhi’s illegal borewell boom running on empty.
With groundwater reserves depleting and illegal borewells mushrooming, Delhi stands at a tipping point — one borewell closer each day to an environmental crisis.
Early this month, the Delhi High Court came down heavily on local authorities over the illegal extraction of groundwater in the national capital, calling it “nothing less than a sin”.
The court’s sharp rebuke came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that highlighted the unchecked use of borewells at an under-construction property on Roshanara Road.
According to experts, this incident is only a surface-level indicator — the actual scale of the problem runs far deeper and threatens Delhi’s groundwater sustainability.
