Yamuna Cleanup Scam? | Whole strategy of Delhi govt to clean Yamuna is foul

New Delhi: Delhi government had set the target to clean the Yamuna River by 2025, however, according to environmental experts there has been no major change in the level of river pollution.

Environmentalist Pankaj Kumar claimed that 90% of Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are not working and the harmful industrial waste directly going into the river. "On paper, DJB is claiming that STPs are 97% (see image) fit but the ground reality is something else," Mr Kumar added.

The reason why the Arvind Kejriwal government has failed to clean Yamuna so far is that the whole strategy of the Delhi government to clean the river is wrong, he said. 

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The Delhi government made commitment to clean the Yamuna to bathing standards by February 2025. To meet these standards, the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) should be less than three milligrams per litre and dissolved oxygen (DO) should be greater than five milligrams per litre. However, no major change was observed in the level of pollution.  

Delhi generates 792 MGD of sewage and 35 STPs across the city can treat up to 667 MGD of sewage, utilising around 70 per cent of their capacity (550 MGD). Around 242 MGD of sewage directly enters the river, according to last years data.

Government data indicates that only 10 out of the 35 operational STPs in the capital meet the prescribed standards for wastewater (BOD and Total Suspended Solids less than 10 milligrams per litre), with the capacity to treat 150 million gallons of wastewater per day. However, Environmentalist Pankaj Kumar claimed that "BOD level being shown on DJB document is misleading."

Central Pollution Control Board's guidelines on water quality.

While the DJB initially pledged to increase the sewage treatment capacity to 814 MGD by December last year, the deadline was extended to June 2024, the DPCC report submitted to the NGT showed.

Notably, last year Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) report underlined that several major projects aimed at cleaning the Yamuna River in Delhi are running behind schedule. The report, submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), highlighted significant delays in projects undertaken by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to reduce pollution in the river.

It is noted that to expedite the cleaning of the Yamuna, Delhi government got a supplementary grant of Rs 1,028 crore last year in January for the financial year 2022-23.