Yamuna rejuvenation: Shah asks Delhi govt. to double its sewage treatment capacity by 2028

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday directed the Delhi government to nearly double its sewage treatment capacity to 1,500 million gallons per day (MGD) by 2028 as part of the ongoing efforts to clean the Yamuna river.

Currently, Delhi’s sewage treatment plants (STPs) have a combined capacity to treat 764.2 MGD of sewage, which is a shortfall of 17.04% as per government data. The Delhi government has been planning to increase its sewage treatment capacity to 964.5 MGD by June 2027.

Mr. Shah issued the directions at a review meeting on Yamuna rejuvenation, attended by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal, Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and senior officials.

The Union Home Minister said that Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh need to come together to clean up the river. He called for third-party testing of water flowing out of the STPs regularly and transparently.

Ms. Gupta said in a post in Hindi on X: “Thanks again to the Union Home Minister for his resolve, coordination and leadership. This is a crucial moment for the future of Delhi as well as Yamuna.”

In a similar meeting on April 17, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had directed senior officials to turn the Yamuna rejuvenation drive into a “people’s movement” and use the best available technology, including satellite imagery, for the purpose.

The pollution in the river’s stretch in the Capital was at the centre stage of the campaigns for the February 5 Delhi Assembly election, and cleaning up the river was one of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s poll promises. Mr. Modi had begun his speech at the BJP headquarters on February 8, after the results were declared and the party came to power, with “Yamuna maiyya ki jai [Hail mother Yamuna]”.

Drone surveys

“Amit Shah emphasised working actively to improve the biochemical oxygen demand (a measure of pollution) in the main drains of Najafgarh and Shahdara. He called for drone surveys of the two main drains of Delhi,” read a statement issued by the Centre.

It added that the Union Home Minister underscored the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s role in the process and urged the Delhi government to undertake continuous and effective steps to stop pollution from industrial units. Since chemical contaminants flow into the Yamuna from other States apart from Delhi, all the departments concerned must work cohesively to clean the river, Mr. Shah also said.

The Home Minister also said that a detailed survey must be conducted regarding water supply in Delhi to ascertain the quantity of water required by the national capital’s residents.

“Uncontrolled water extraction through borewells is a big problem in Delhi. The Delhi Jal Board needs to work on it by creating an action plan, and these borewells must be regularised in a phased manner,” Mr. Shah also said.

He added that there is a need to talk to the U.P. government to find a solution to improve the flow of the river at the time of its entry into Delhi. The Union Home Minister also said that the treated water from the STP at Okhla must be released downstream of the Yamuna to help improve the quality of the river water.