Not just Indore: Urban rivers and lakes turning toxic in Madhya Pradesh

By Raj Kumar Sinha* 

Most major cities of Madhya Pradesh—Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Ujjain and Sagar—depend directly or indirectly on rivers, lakes and groundwater for drinking water. All these sources are under increasing pressure from urban sewage, industrial waste and solid garbage. Sewage treatment plants are either inadequately designed or, in many cases, completely non-functional. As a result, partially treated or untreated sewage flows directly into water bodies.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), based in Bhopal, recently acknowledged that serious risks of water contamination exist not only in Indore, but in other major cities of the state as well. The remark points not only to administrative failures but also raises deep questions about the model of urban water governance in Madhya Pradesh. The NGT’s comments come at a time when urban populations are expanding rapidly, yet sewage treatment, solid waste management and water protection systems have failed to grow in proportion. The continuous discharge of untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents into rivers, lakes and aquifers has turned into a permanent threat.

The Tribunal observed that inadequate treatment of urban sewage, unregulated disposal of industrial waste and the absence of regular monitoring of water sources are intensifying the crisis. It directed the state government and urban local bodies to ensure water quality, strengthen sewage treatment capacity and prioritise public health.

This is not a stray administrative lapse or a one-off accident, but an indication of a deep structural crisis across most urban centres of Madhya Pradesh. For cities dependent on rivers, lakes and groundwater, the warning is clear: the danger is no longer at the doorstep—it has already entered the home.

In Jabalpur, the Narmada River is vital for religious, cultural and drinking purposes. Yet large parts of the city discharge sewage directly into the Narmada or its tributary drains. At several locations sewage channels merge into the river without any treatment. During the monsoon, the situation worsens when storm runoff carries waste directly into the river. Despite this, official claims that the Narmada remains “clean” do not match conditions on the ground.

A historical Gond-era lake in Jabalpur, once an important water storage and groundwater recharge source, now stands as a symbol of neglect and administrative apathy. Much of the lake has filled up with garbage, plastic and domestic waste, turning a valuable water body into a virtual dumping ground. This is not merely an ecological or aesthetic issue—it is a direct public health emergency. The accumulated waste breeds mosquitoes, foul odour and water-borne diseases. For neighbourhood residents, the lake has become a source of illness rather than relief. Its neglect reflects a wider indifference toward water bodies across the city. In a city where the Narmada is the lifeline, allowing lakes to decay pushes Jabalpur closer to a future water crisis.

In Gwalior, small rivers and drains near the city have become conduits for untreated wastewater. Due to insufficient sewage treatment infrastructure, waste flows directly into rivers and ponds, degrading water quality. At the same time, groundwater levels across Gwalior division are falling rapidly because most extraction happens through borewells and tubewells. Some localities in Gwalior receive no piped water for months, forcing residents to rely on bottled water and tankers. This reflects a weakened water supply network and governance failure. Citizens in the region now suffer simultaneously from water scarcity and water contamination.

The Malwa region has long been known for the saying “pag-pag roti, dag-dag neer”—bread at every step, water at every turn. Indore, in particular, once relied on its network of stepwells, wells and tanks. Over time, as traditional water systems were ignored, dependence on the Narmada water pipeline projects increased. It is also a fact that, to secure a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the city's public water supply system was deliberately portrayed as “failing” so that privatisation could be pushed through under public-private partnership conditions.

The loan conditions required that various components of water supply be handed to private operators—distribution, billing, revenue collection, operation and maintenance, metering and more. This included laying off municipal staff. In return, citizens were sold the dream of 24x7 water supply. The government’s role has been reduced to that of a regulator. Accountability of municipalities and local bodies is weakening. Private companies remain outside the ambit of the Right to Information Act, reducing transparency. Citizen grievance redressal has also become slow and complicated.

Privatisation of water in Madhya Pradesh is not merely a policy choice; it raises questions of social justice and democratic rights. The critical question is this: where is the monitoring system of municipal corporations and the administration?

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*Bargi Dam Displaced and Affected Association