Yamuna Rejuvenation Plans Meet a Toxic Reality

Synopsis

Despite decades of clean-up campaigns the 22 km long stretch of the river in Delhi is still one of the most polluted urban stretches in India with faecal coliforms present in thousands of times the safe limit. Delhi government has recently come up with a new proposal to increase the sewage treatment capacity to 1500 million gallons per day by 2028. This article is about the scope of the pollution problem, the infrastructure deficits that lie behind it and whether the latest rejuvenation mission can achieve what previous ones have not.

The magnitude of the contamination

The 48-kilometre journey of the Yamuna through Delhi also has a disproportionate amount of pollutants in the 22-kilometre section between the Wazirabad and Okhla barrage. Water quality tests published in the Oriental Journal of Chemistry show that biochemical oxygen demand at Okhla barrage is as high as 30 milligrams per litre, far exceeding the permissible limit of 3, while the counts of faecal coliforms are above safe limit of 500, reaching as high as 7,200 per 100 millilitres.

Nearly 69 per cent of the total wastewater flowing in the river in Delhi is due to the Najafgarh drain, while the Shahdara adds about 11 per cent. A parliamentary standing committee on water resources has already termed the river as "almost non-existent" during dry months, as sewage impedes the natural flow.

New Infrastructure Commitments

In early 2026, Delhi's Chief Minister had announced that the city will see its sewage treatment capacity expanded from 814 million gallons per day to 1,500 MGD, which will be its greatest sewage infrastructure project ever.

Among the planned projects, 56 MGD will be added to existing treatment plants by December 2027, 35 decentralised treatment plants will be set up to provide an additional 170 MGD by the same year and a further 460 MGD will be added by building large plants around the major drains by December 2028.

The connection of sewerage is also intended for all the unauthorised colonies in Delhi in stages from December 2026 to 2028, which is a huge task as unconnected colonies have been releasing sewage directly in the drains flowing into the river in the past.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has said that the Yamuna will be cleaned only if there is coordination with neighbouring states.

Why Past Plans Fell Short

Delhi's rejuvenation drive isn't the first. Various cleanup programmes have been conducted since the mid-1980s when the Ganga Action Plan for the first time focused on the Yamuna as a tributary of the river.

Nearly one-third of the sewage generated in the city remains untreated and approximately three-fourths of the existing sewage treatment plants (STPs) do not have a disinfection plant, including chlorination or UV disinfection units, which means that even ‘treated’ sewage water does not meet the safe discharge criteria.

This time, officials suggest a new initiative to survey drains using drones, monthly water testing at 40 hotspots and a common body that will coordinate between the Delhi Jal Board, the municipal bodies and the pollution authorities.

The researchers warn, however, that a third of the pollution load into the Najafgarh drain comes from six drains in the neighbouring state of Haryana, a reminder that Delhi's river can only be cleaned through Delhi's policies.