In Delhi’s Yamuna, Funds Flow, Life Doesn’t

With a new government in power in Delhi, there is a renewed sense of purpose. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi last Thursday to discuss the river’s progress and to chart out next steps. 

The government, with this, has kick-started the installation of 32 real-time water-quality monitors along the river and its feeder drains, promising data on oxygen, bacterial counts, and other pollution markers. 

"Both government and private organisations will work towards cleaning the Yamuna. Efforts have been renewed, but they never stopped," a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) official told The Secretariat. 

Past efforts included adopting a sewage treatment plant policy, but this time the proposed policy itself is adopting a sewage treatment plant.

Last week, the DJB proposed its idea to invite private firms, community groups and individuals to “adopt” sewage-treatment plants (STP) along the city’s drains. This would offer a new fundraising route for the long-stalled clean-up drive. 

High-level meetings, public-private proposals, and infrastructure promises making headlines are a good sign amidst the familiar failure of past efforts. New life is being breathed into the choking river through policy initiatives and the actions they prompt. 

The fact is that although the Yamuna runs for only 22 km in Delhi, which is not even two per cent of the river's total length, these 22 km account for over over 80 per cent of the pollution in the river.

Big Spending, Bigger Disappointment

Since 2017, Delhi’s departments have invested more than Rs 6,800 crore in Yamuna-related projects, constructing 37 new STPs, upgrading dozens of existing facilities, clearing or de-silting ageing sewer lines and laying over 1,000 km of pipelines to sewer roughly 80 per cent of the city. 

Yet the river’s health shows hasn't shown signs revival. In 2024, officials found dissolved-oxygen levels at key points along Delhi’s stretch of the Yamuna had fallen to zero, even during the monsoon when fresh rainwater should have given the river a chance to breathe again. 

Without dissolved oxygen, fish and other aquatic life cannot survive. At the same time, tests revealed that the river’s bacterial contamination, which is measured as most-probable-number (MPN) per 100 ml of faecal coliform (FC), soared to more than 2 lakh MPN during dry spells.

MPN is a statistical estimate of the number of live bacteria in a sample: Higher MPN means more sewage pollution. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) sets a permissible limit of 2,500 MPN per 100 ml for faecal coliform in water, with a “desirable” target of 500 MPN per 100 ml. 

At over 2 lakh MPN, the Yamuna is flowing well above both these thresholds. These figures point to the large-scale dumping of untreated or inadequately treated sewage into the Yamuna, a problem that even monsoon flows cannot wash away.

Last month, the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) of the Delhi government, headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta approved the construction of 27 new STPs along the Yamuna in an attempt to thwart all flow of untreated water to the river. 

“Cleaning the Yamuna isn’t a one-day job,” says Saibal Ghosh, CEO of SSP Pvt Ltd. Ghosh previously served as COO at SUEZ India — a company that manages water and wastewater projects across Indian cities, including sewage treatment and urban water supply.

“It’s not an easy job either,” he adds. "We cannot say that our government isn't doing anything. I don't believe that. Not with this government, the previous government or any previous government. Everybody wants to clean the Yamuna. The intention is good," he says. 

Gaps In Infra And Data

Over the past several years, Delhi has built dozens of treatment plants, laid hundreds of kilometres of sewer lines and swept drains clear, yet the Yamuna remains clogged with untreated waste. 

A key reason is that many STPs still struggle to meet Delhi’s stricter discharge norm of 10 mg/l for biochemical-oxygen demand (BOD). When machinery breaks down or power fails, raw sewage simply bypasses treatment.

In the city’s unauthorised colonies, private de-sludging tankers often empty septic sludge into open drains or directly into the river, because there is no strict licensing and penalty system.

Some experts say that urban planners lack accurate data on how much wastewater Delhi actually generates each day. Census figures are outdated and large volumes drawn from borewells or private tankers go unrecorded.

The result is a mismatch between treatment capacity and real inflows: some plants sit idle while others overflow, perpetuating pollution and wasting precious resources.

But Ghosh says this isn't accurate. There are accurate estimates of how much drinking water Delhi consumes and the universal rule is the 85 per cent of that will turn into sewage. 

"The data is collected, recorded, and stored, but old data isn't referred to with new challenges," he says. That is a problem. 

Next Steps 

Experts at the Centre for Science and Environment argue that Delhi must shift from broad infrastructure drives to precision-targeted interventions.

In the hope of turning data into action, Delhi will install 32 real-time water-quality monitoring stations — 10 on the Yamuna itself, and 22 on its major feeder drains — by the end of this year. 

These stations will continuously measure BOD alongside chemical-oxygen-demand (COD), which captures both organic and chemical pollutants; total suspended solids, the mass of particles floating in the water, and faecal coliform bacteria. 

Rapid micro-surveys in informal settlements can update planners on actual wastewater volumes, ensuring that plant capacities match demand. 

Finally, focusing interventions on the Najafgarh and Shahdara drains — which together account for roughly 84 per cent of Delhi’s Yamuna pollution — will deliver the biggest improvements. By combining live data, strict enforcement and targeted upgrades, Delhi can give the Yamuna a real chance to recover.

As monsoon clouds gather, Delhi’s leaders face a pivotal test: Will high-profile meetings, adoption pledges, and real-time monitors translate into real-world reductions in pollution?

"Every citizen has to take part responsibly to clean our mother Yamuna and take part with the new government initiative," says Ghosh. 

For the river to reclaim life in this stretch, political commitment must be backed by clear contracts, relentless enforcement, and the disciplined use of data to guide every effort.

But it will also take public trust, participation, and pressure, from the people who live along its banks and depend on its health. Only then can the Yamuna flow clean once more.