Sewage Flow to Yamuna in Delhi to Be Stopped in 2 Years, River to Be Clean by Dec 2027: Officer

The Delhi government will make all the sewage treatment plants in the city, including six that are being newly set up, fully functional to completely check the flow of sewage and industrial effluents into the Yamuna in the next two years, and clean the river by December 2027, Additional Chief Secretary Navin Chaudhary said on Monday.

During a visit to oversee the work to clean the Yamuna, Chaudhary, who is in charge of the irrigation and flood control department, said commitments have been made at the highest level for cleaning the river in three years.

The entire 57-km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, from Haryana where it enters the city to the Uttar Pradesh border where it exits, will be cleaned, he said.

Addressing a celebratory gathering over the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) victory in the recent Delhi Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the Yamuna, suffering from heavy pollution, will be cleaned no matter how much effort or time it takes.

Chaudhary said three-four things, including the removal of trash and weed, and checking the flow of untreated sewage and industrial effluents through fully-functional sewage treatment plants (STPs), need to be ensured to clean the river.

"Seven machines have been deployed to remove solid waste, water hyacinth and weed from the river and this work will go on for the next few months," he said.

Parallelly, the target is to modernise and reboot around a dozen STPs and complete the construction of six such plants by the end of 2026, he told reporters.

"Strict action will be taken if any untreated sewage is found discharged into the Yamuna when all the STPs are fully functional by December 2026," Chaudhary said.

Concrete steps will be taken to check the flow of industrial effluents into the river, for which the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the industry department will work together, he added.

"Industrial units releasing untreated effluents into the Yamuna will have to shut down," the additional chief secretary warned.

It will also be ensured that the common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) in industrial areas are working properly, he added.

Public awareness will be created to prevent people from immersing idols, throwing calenders and such other items into the river. "We will specify places where they can deposit such items, to be later respectfully immersed in a proper way," Chaudhary said.

Around 28 to 30 big drains pour untreated wastewater into the Yamuna. The biggest ones are the Najafgarh and Barapulla drains. Scores of smaller drains join these drains carrying untreated water into the river, the officer said.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is also working to check the flow of sewage, if any, through storm drains. This work will be completed in two-three months, Chaudhary said.