The Ministry of Jal Shakti informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that despite expenditure of approximately ₹5,536 crore by the Delhi Jal Board over the past three financial years, the Yamuna continues to suffer severe pollution primarily due to untreated sewage, non-functional effluent treatment infrastructure, chronic delays in critical projects, and a staggering daily shortfall of 4,221 tonnes in solid waste processing capacity.

Minister of State Raj Bhushan Choudhary revealed that Delhi currently faces a sewage treatment deficit of 414 million litres per day (MLD) as of August 2025, while several approved industrial clusters still lack mandated common effluent treatment plants, allowing toxic industrial discharge to flow unchecked into the river and its drains.

The reply highlighted that the national capital generates 11,862 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily but possesses capacity to scientifically process only 7,641 tonnes, resulting in thousands of tonnes being dumped indiscriminately along the floodplain—contributing significantly to the toxic froth and blackened water that have become the river’s grim signature in Delhi.

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Although water quality at the Yamuna’s entry point at Palla occasionally meets acceptable standards—with Central Pollution Control Board data showing median Biochemical Oxygen Demand at 4 mg/l and Dissolved Oxygen at 6 mg/l from January to July 2025, improving further to 2.5 mg/l and 9.5 mg/l in September—the river rapidly deteriorates downstream as 22 major drains carrying untreated domestic and industrial waste empty directly into it.

Under the Namami Gange programme, 35 projects worth ₹6,534 crore have been sanctioned specifically for Yamuna rejuvenation in Delhi, of which only 21 stand completed, leaving multiple interceptor sewers, sewage treatment plant upgrades, and rehabilitation works stalled—underscoring persistent implementation failures that have turned the river’s cleanup into a multi-decade saga of unfulfilled promises and continuing ecological disaster.

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