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Yamuna still dirty despite crores spent: Centre tells House

NEW DELHI: The Jal Shakti ministry on Monday said untreated sewage, missing effluent treatment facilities, project delays and a major shortfall in solid waste processing remain the primary reasons the Yamuna continues to run polluted in the national capital. It also disclosed that the Delhi Jal Board spent about Rs 5,536 crore over the past three financial years on efforts to clean the river. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, MoS for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said that Delhi had a sewage-treatment gap of 414 MLD as of August 2025, lacked common effluent treatment plants in several approved industrial areas, and continued to face delays in completing and upgrading key sewage-treatment projects. He added that the city generates 11,862 tonnes of solid waste a day but can treat only 7,641 tonnes, leaving a shortfall of 4,221 tonnes. Choudhary noted that the Yamuna enters Delhi at Palla, where its water quality varies through the year depending on flow and catchment discharge. Between January and July 2025, median Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) levels stood at 4 mg/l and 6 mg/l, respectively, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. A Delhi Pollution Control Committee assessment in September recorded improved figures, with BOD at 2.5 mg/l and DO at 9.5 mg/lboth within healthy limits. The minister said that under the Namami Gange programme, 35 projects worth Rs 6,534 crore have been sanctioned for Yamuna rejuvenation. Of these, 21 projects have been completed. The state of the river had become a political flashpoint during the Delhi Assembly election in February last year.

2 Dec 2025 7:27 am