New Delhi: Despite being the national capital, Delhi ranks at the bottom among all states and Union territories when it comes to the accreditation of public water and wastewater testing labs. As per records, out of over 25 public water testing labs under Delhi govt, only two have NABL’s accreditation.The water lab of Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) — the one Central Pollution Control Board relies on for quality testing of the Yamuna water through monthly analysis, apart from the analysis of sewage/effluent treatment plants and drains — is not accredited.
National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, an autonomous body, ensures that labs meet global standards and accuracy. Currently, only Delhi Jal Board‘s two zonal labs in Haiderpur and Wazirabad are listed as per NABL records while other DJB labs lost their accreditation in Oct.The findings raise serious concerns regarding accurate monitoring and public health in Delhi, which saw a spike in cholera cases this year and dealt with instances of dangerous levels of effluents in its treated and wastewater. Under central govt’s Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), states and UTs are to get their water quality testing laboratories accredited to ensure the reliability, accuracy and credibility of their data.“DJB has applied for NABL accreditation for some labs,” said a Delhi govt official. No reply was received from DPCC regarding the matter. As per a Dec 4 document by the Union Jal Shakti ministry, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Sikkim and Nagaland had 100% accredited public labs, Haryana 98%, Assam 94% and Uttar Pradesh 66% while Andaman and Nicobar Islands had one lab accredited out of 11. Delhi’s accredition rate is less than 8%.Nationwide, there was significant progress under JJM, with approximately 2,847 water quality testing laboratories nationwide and 1,678 — 59% — NABL-accredited or recognised, the document stated.“This abysmal record is a national embarrassment for the capital, where water quality issues are already rampant due to pollution, ageing infrastructure and industrial effluents,” said Pankaj Kumar, an activist from Team Earth Warrior, who also wrote to DJB. He added, “The NABL report must be adhered to…. If it’s not NABL, then the report is merely a scrap of paper, it is invalid. No court, no international agency would hold it valid.”The CPCB monitoring data on Delhi’s sewage treatment plants from one of the NABL-certified labs, obtained through an RTI by the activist group, showed that barring four STPs, the treatment quality for June 2025 on eight parameters for 37 plants didn’t meet standards on faecal coliform, BOD, TSS, phosphate, ammonia, etc. The untreated discharge, as witnessed by TOI, directly falls into the stormwater, supplementary or Najafgarh drains that further lead to the Yamuna.However, when compared with the same month’s data from DPCC, the results differed exponentially, with most STPs deemed fit.
