The Yamuna is virtually “dead” in the stretch that flows through the national capital, from Palla to Okhla; the total raw sewage dumped into the whole of Yamuna, especially in Delhi, is far in excess of total sewage treatment capacity; and Haryana is not releasing enough water into the river to maintain environmental flow in most months, a parliamentary standing committee report on the Yamuna said, flagging “serious and systemic hurdles” in cleansing the river of pollutants.
The report, tabled in both houses of Parliament on Tuesday, said, of the three main portions of the river flowing through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi, the stretch in Delhi was the most polluted.
The standing committee on water resources, in its report titled, Review Of Upper Yamuna River Cleaning Project Up to Delhi And River Bed Management, reviewed steps taken by multi-state authorities to implement an earlier set of recommendations to mitigate heavy pollution in the river. According to a Central Pollution Control Board study, Delhi alone contributes nearly 79% of waste going into the Yamuna.
Parliamentary committees have powers to recommend measures to be taken by various ministries, call for so-called action-taken reports and summon officials to depose before it. The panel for water resources is chaired by BJP lawmaker Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The Yamuna is not only a lifeline for the Capital but also holds immense political significance. In the recently concluded assembly elections, the quality of water in the Yamuna was a major campaign issue, with the Bharatiya Janata Party blaming the then Aam Aadmi Party of doing little over a decade to clean up the river that millions of Delhiites depend on, and the city government accusing states such as Haryana of conspiring against the people of the Capital.
In a previous report, the committee had taken note of “excessive presence” of heavy metals in the Yamuna riverbed in Delhi, which it termed as a “severe health hazard”. The Yamuna, like the Ganges, is revered by Hindus, who believe its water has purifying powers. Millions of people use the river for bathing, drinking and industry. Yet, the longest tributary of the Ganges has been facing a pollution crisis for decades.
The panel, in its latest report, stated that the total raw sewage dumped into the whole of Yamuna, especially in Delhi, was far in excess of total sewage treatment capacity. Based on the panel’s recommendations, a central monitoring committee with representatives from states has been formed to address this critical gap, the panel said, appreciating the move.
The parliamentary committee had also asked Delhi’s irrigation and flood control department as well as the Delhi Jal Board, among other authorities, to “actively explore” the possibility of controlled dredging to remove debris and heavy metals, as these couldn’t be flushed out by monsoon rains.
The panel received responses from the irrigation department and the National Clean Ganga Mission, but got no response from the Delhi Jal Board within the stipulated time. It found that measures taken were grossly inadequate.
“The Committee therefore reiterate that the Department may take pro-active steps at least for controlled dredging of the sludge which cannot be left to the vagaries of monsoon rains and whose continued presence may further decay the water quality of such an important river,” the panel’s report said.
On maintaining environmental flow – a key parameter of river health – the panel stated that “10 cumecs of flow” released by Haryana at the Hathnikund barrage during lean season was “inadequate”, as most of the water “evaporates or percolates before it reaches Wazirabad”.
Haryana officials, referring to an earlier agreement between Yamuna basin states, however told the panel that it was not required to go into the question of releasing more fresh water until the end of 2025.
Poor environmental flow, mainly due to lack of fresh water, contributes to a river’s stagnation. “There is almost NIL environmental flow available at downstream of Wazirabad Barrage during most of the period i.e. 9 out of 12 months in a year. Environmental flow is only available during monsoon period of 03 months i.e., July- September,” the report said.
The lack of fresh-water inflow has been a grave problem for the Yamuna in Delhi. In a key finding, the panel stated that the flood control department had stated that even if the Delhi Jal Board “treats the entire sewage generated in Delhi up to BOD of 10 mg/l, desired water quality of BOD less than 3 mg/l & DO more than 5 mg/l may not be achieved in river Yamuna due to unavailability of fresh water in the river downstream of Wazirabad”.
BOD refers to biochemical oxygen demand while DO stands for dissolved oxygen, which are essential for aquatic life and the river itself. “The Delhi part is dead with no bio-dissolved oxygen,” the panel noted.