As promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run up to the just concluded Assembly elections, the process of rejuvenating the Yamuna River has commenced.  The Delhi government’s Flood and Irrigation department has started cleaning of Yamuna with trash skimmers, weed harvesters and a dredge utility craft already starting cleaning operations in the river on Sunday.

This comes after Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena’s meeting with Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra and Additional Chief Secretary (Flood and Irrigations) Navin  Kumar Choudhary on the cleaning of Yamuna river. At the meeting, it was decided to start work immediately. As a result, large-scale cleaning operations began on Sunday, with deployment of trash skimmers, weed harvesters, and a dredge utility craft to remove debris and pollutants from the river.

Notably, the new government in Delhi is yet to be formed by the BJP. In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, cleaning Yamuna was among one of the biggest poll promises mentioned in its poll manifesto.

During the election campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi , Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had promised to clean the river.

The BJP had promised to develop a Yamuna Riverfront and set up a Yamuna Kosh to revitalise the river, if voted to power in Delhi.

According to officials, state-of-the-art machines are being used which include four skimmer machines, two weed harvesting machines, a DTU machine to remove hyacinth patera, elephant grass, floating grass, materials and other solid waste from the river  Yamuna. Overall, the work of cleaning the Yamuna has been started with seven machines. This work has been started from ITO and Vasudev Ghat in Delhi.  “In the first phase, all solid waste will be removed”, they said.

Raj Niwas official said to begin with the trash, garbage and silt in the Yamuna river stream will be removed. “Simultaneously cleaning operations in the Najafgarh Drain, Supplementary Drain and all other major drains will start. At the same time, a daily watch on the existing STPs in terms of their capacity and output will be maintained, and a time bound plan in terms of construction of new STPs/DSTPs etc to meet the actual shortfall of treating about 400 MGD of sewer will be put in place and operationalised,” he said.

Flowing 52 kilometres through Delhi and passing through 15 constituencies, the Yamuna river has long been a symbol of Delhi’s environmental struggles, with its pollution levels worsening over the years.

Official said the execution of this ambitious plan, which targets at cleaning the river in about three years, will require seamless coordination between various agencies and departments that include Delhi Jal Board, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Environment Department, Public Works Department and Delhi Development Authority (DDA). “Monitoring of the abovementioned works will be done at the highest level on a weekly basis. In addition to this, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been directed to keep strict vigil on discharge of untreated effluent into the drains by industrial units in the city,” he said.

The mission to revive the Yamuna River initially gained momentum in January 2023 when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) established a High-Level Committee (HLC) under the chairmanship of LG Saxena. However, after five meetings of the HLC, the then Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, moved the Supreme Court, securing a stay on the NGT’s directives from then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud on July 10, 2023.

Thereafter, works of Yamuna rejuvenation had again been stalled and CoD/BoD levels that had started improving slightly on a month on month basis, became worse with pollution reaching record levels early this year,” official added.

AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had promised ahead of the Delhi elections in 2020 that he would clean Yamuna. The AAP’s failure to meet its 2025 deadline for cleaning the Yamuna was one of the central themes of the election campaign with BJP leaders accusing Arvind Kejriwal’s government of neglecting the critical issue. In the crucial assembly election, described as a do-or-die battle for both Kejriwal and his party, the AAP leader faced consistent criticism for failing to deliver on his party’s promise to clean the river.

Yamuna’s pollution was a significant issue during the polls, particularly for large groups of migrants from Bihar and eastern UP, who traditionally supported AAP. BJP candidate Parvesh Verma, who defeated Kejriwal in the tough New Delhi seat contest, even made a public protest by dipping Kejriwal’s cutout in the polluted river.

Meanwhile Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took a jab at the AAP government, challenging Delhi’s cabinet to take a dip in the Yamuna, much like his own cabinet did at the Maha Kumbh.

The Yamuna originates from the Yamunotri glacier in Uttarakhand at an altitude of 6,387 metres in the Himalayas. In its upper reaches, the river is clean. It flows through Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand before entering Delhi. While the Yamuna flows for about 1,376 km, a mere 22-km stretch in Delhi contributes nearly 76% of its total pollution load. In some stretches, the dissolved oxygen levels - necessary for aquatic life - drop to near-zero. The water turns black, frothy and stinky.

The primary culprit is the huge discharge of untreated sewage and domestic wastewater into the Yamuna. Delhi generates about 792 million gallons per day (MGD) of sewage, yet its treatment plants process can process only around 667 MGD. The rest directly flows into the Yamuna. More than 20 major drains, including those at Najafgarh and Shahdara, carry vast amounts of domestic waste, fecal matter, and industrial effluents into the river. Many sewage treatment plants either do not operate at full capacity or fail to meet pollution norms, allowing contaminants to flow unchecked into the river.

Raw industrial discharge worsens the river’s condition further. The Yamuna absorbs hazardous chemicals and toxins from industries such as dyeing, electroplating, chemical manufacturing and paper production. Delhi is home to over 1,500 unauthorised industrial units, many of which illegally release waste into the river. It includes heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury and lead, which are a health hazard. Another major issue is the rampant dumping of solid waste. Large amounts of plastic, polythene bags and construction debris are regularly discarded into the Yamuna. Despite a ban on single-use plastic, enforcement remains weak. The problem is exacerbated by religious and ritual offerings when people immerse idols, flowers, and other materials into the river. Many of them contain toxic dyes and chemicals.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT), on February 6, 2025, lambasted the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and other agencies for failing to remove encroachments along Delhi’s stretch of the river. The DDA sought a three-week extension to submit a fresh report detailing its compliance with court orders.

Over five years ago, the NGT had ruled that river floodplains must remain free from occupation due to their ecological significance. It had ordered the DDA, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and the forest department to take legal action against the squatters. The order remained unimplemented.

“The truth is that the water flowing from the Yamunotri glacier vanishes even before it has descended from the mountains. Most of the water that reaches Delhi comes from small rivers in Haryana and the waste discharged by factories. So, what can you expect from the Yamuna in Delhi?, said a former chief secretary of Delhi.