Delhi government plans to double its sewage treatment capacity to revive Yamuna River

In a renewed push to clean the Yamuna River, the Delhi government plans to nearly double the city's sewage treatment capacity over the next two years, Water Minister Parvesh Verma said on Friday.

In a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, multiple issues were discussed, including the urgent need to reduce the discharge of untreated water into the river, particularly from the heavily polluted Najafgarh drain.

"Currently, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has a sewage treatment capacity of around 600-700 million gallons per day (MGD) across all existing STPs. We plan to increase this to 1,250 MGD by June 2027. Deadlines have been set for both plant upgrades and the construction of new facilities," Verma added.


The Delhi government also plans to write to the neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to discuss reducing the pollution load in the Najafgarh drain, he said.

Delhi's existing infrastructure includes 37 sewage treatment plants (STPs), of which 18 are currently being upgraded. To further enhance treatment capacity, the government is also setting up new STPs in key locations, the minister said.

Beyond infrastructure development, the government is focusing on the Najafgarh drain, once the Sahibi River, which has become the largest source of pollution entering the Yamuna.

According to officials, the drain now carries approximately 800 MGD of untreated sewage, a significant increase from the earlier estimate of 600 MGD.

"This poses a serious health risk to people living nearby and causes frequent waterlogging due to the drain's poor carrying capacity. Interstate coordination is critical to reducing waste inflow from upstream areas because the total outflow of around 250 MGD comes from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," an official said.

In Delhi, the Yamuna flows for 52 km, of which a critical 22 km segment-from Wazirabad to Okhla, is highly polluted and has become the focal point of multiple planning and policy efforts.

In areas where large-scale STPs cannot be constructed due to space limitations, the DJB plans to install 40 decentralised sewage treatment plants (DSTPs), ensuring localised waste management.

Last month, the Delhi government launched a comprehensive 45-point action plan to rejuvenate the Yamuna within the next two years, with the involvement of multiple agencies to deal with the challenges of sewerage treatment and trapping drains flowing into the river.

In the first budget of the newly elected BJP-led government, the water and sewerage sector has received one of the highest allocations -- Rs 9,000 crore. Of this, Rs 500 crore has been specifically earmarked for STP repairs and modernisation.