If you were to judge by the election campaign and the TV debates, illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Rohingya refugees might be the biggest problems of the national capital. Not the city’s alarming air pollution or its acute water scarcity, for example. The incumbent party’s governance record is not quite in the frame even, as you might expect in the run-up to elections.
Both AAP and the BJP are busy trading charges over the inclusion of said ‘illegals’ in the electoral rolls. The rolls, incidentally, are , but what makes them dubious is not the alleged inclusion of Rohingya refugees, as we’re being led to believe. In December 2024, Delhi lieutenant-governor V.K. Saxena launched a ‘crackdown’ against Bangladeshi nationals living ‘illegally’ in the city. After two weeks of police efforts, only 170 individuals were identified, less than three dozen detained, and a mere eight are currently being prepared for deportation to Bangladesh.
A similar operation in 2022 identified around 1,000 ‘illegal’ Bangladeshis residing in Delhi, including those who allegedly stayed on after their visas had lapsed.
As for Rohingya refugees, there are approximately 1,100 concentrated in four areas. Since they don’t have voting rights, their electoral influence is not just negligible, it’s non-existent. Assuming a fraction of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees do get themselves added to the voter rolls, their impact would be statistically insignificant in a city with 33 million residents. Yet, the election rhetoric continues to suggest otherwise, creating the impression that the outcome hinges on these two groups.
Instead of addressing pressing concerns — pollution, traffic congestion, water scarcity, waste management — verbal battles are being waged daily, with a cacophony of labels like kattar imandar (staunchly honest) versus kattar beiman (staunchly dishonest) and jibes about palaces and glass houses (‘raj mahal’ and ‘sheesh mahal’).
Who ordered the demolition of temples? Why is the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana being dragged out? Why so many freebies under the Chief Minister Mahila Samman Yojana? The airwaves are dominated by allegations, counter-allegations and as a wit aptly put it, ‘weapons of mass distraction’.
A sensationalised narrative about illegals and a deliberate focus on polarising topics ensures that the electorate remains caught up in emotional debates, rather than demanding solutions to the systemic problems that define life in the capital. The most persistent of these problems is pollution, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) 12 times higher than what is considered safe. Data reveals over 2.2 million children in Delhi are living with long-term health complications caused by exposure to such toxic air.
A 2024 study by the University of Chicago estimated that pollution has slashed the average lifespan of Delhi residents by 11.9 years. A global survey conducted in 2022 by the US-based Health Effects Institute assessed pollution levels in 7,000 cities worldwide — Delhi was ranked the most polluted city on the planet.
In 2001, during Sheila Dikshit’s tenure as chief minister, Delhi undertook an ambitious project to transition its public transport system from diesel and petrol to compressed natural gas (CNG). This move resulted in a significant reduction in the levels of sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. More than two decades later, the situation isn’t better, it’s worse.
The Delhi government’s announcement on committing to replace DTC buses with electric vehicles is a step in the right direction. However, this effort is unlikely to make much of a difference, as these buses contribute only a small fraction to the city’s overall vehicular emissions.
What is glaringly absent, both in governance and in election discourse, is a concrete, actionable strategy to tackle the root causes. Despite the severity of the problem, pollution barely registers as a priority in ongoing political debates, leaving Delhi’s residents to choke on the very air they breathe.
Also worrying is the number of homeless people who struggle to survive Delhi’s bitter winters. A 2024 survey conducted by the NGO Urban Rights Forum revealed that Delhi has over 300,000 homeless people (this does not include those living in the National Capital Region). The city has only 197 night-shelters with a total capacity of 7,092 individuals. This leaves the majority of the homeless with no choice but to spend freezing nights huddled outside hospitals, on footpaths, railway platforms, overbridges, subways. With little or no protection, every cold wave leads to tragic consequences.
According to data from the Centre for Holistic Development, an average of nine people a day succumb to the cold during the peak winter season in Delhi. Despite the alarming figures, solutions from the Centre and the Delhi government remain rhetorical.
The problem of homelessness is exacerbated by the influx of people migrating to Delhi in search of employment. According to the Delhi government’s economic survey, as many as 221,000 people moved to Delhi in 2022 and chose to settle permanently. This translates to an average of 605 new residents being added to Delhi’s population every day.
Delhi’s current population is projected to surge to 5.5 crore over the next 25 years, which will strain the city’s resources and already creaking infrastructure to breaking point. Without a comprehensive and forward-thinking plan, Delhi can only implode.
Rivers are regarded as the lifeline of cities. The Yamuna, which flows through the heart of Delhi, is reduced to little more than . According to the Central Pollution Control Board, a 100 millilitres of the Yamuna’s water contain up to 1.1 million coliform bacteria, way beyond safe levels even for bathing.
Delhi contributes significantly to this toxicity, dumping 58 per cent of its waste into the river. Every day, 800 million litres of untreated sewage and 440 million litres of industrial waste find their way to the Yamuna. Originating from the pristine glaciers of the Himalayas, the river becomes so polluted within Delhi that it carries it all the way downstream to Prayagraj.
The blame game between the BJP and AAP over the Yamuna’s degradation is relentless. Neither party has presented a credible action plan. Both the Centre and the Delhi government had ample time — ten years — to initiate meaningful efforts to clean up the river. Yet, no substantial progress has been made. Even now, amidst political sparring, no concrete programmes or strategies have emerged to rescue the Yamuna from its dire state.
Delhi faces a daunting array of problems — too many vehicles, chronic traffic jams, deteriorating roads, inadequate education and healthcare facilities. The most pressing, and depressing problem, however, remains the state of politics in the city.
On the one hand, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal touts his administration’s revolutionary changes in Delhi’s education system. On the other, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accuses the AAP government of having destroyed it. Regardless of where the truth lies, such narratives only serve to divert voters’ attention from the core issues plaguing the city. Disarray defines the political climate in Delhi today, leaving its residents with nothing more than promises no one intends to keep.
