Delhi Jal Board initiates ₹500cr project to improve Yamuna’s e-flow

Delhi Jal Board's ₹500-crore project aims to improve Yamuna's flow, adding 318 MLD treated wastewater to combat pollution and enhance ecological health.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has initiated the project for improvement of environmental flow in the most polluted stretch of Yamuna downstream of Wazirabad through addition of 318 million liters of highly treated wastewater near Sur Ghat under an over ₹500-crore project.

Delhi Jal Board initiates ₹500cr project to improve Yamuna’s e-flow

Under the plan approved by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), DJB on Saturday invited bids for setting up concrete conveyance channels, three large pumping stations, truss bridges, and centrally located supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. It will also involve trapping of 30MGD (million gallons per day) sewage from Jahangirpuri drain which currently ends up in Yamuna.

DJB officials said that construction work is likely to take 12 months with two months of trial phase. “We will set up an independent conveyance system to carry highly treated water from Coronation Pillar sewage treatment plant to Yamuna. The main carriage system will be around 6.47km-long and 2,000 mm in diameter. Three massive pumping stations will be spread over an area of 4,500 square metres. The system will also have live monitoring of key pollution parameters sulphides, nitrates, oils, dissolved oxygen, among others. The quality of water will be displayed on LED screens,” official added.

Delhi water Minister Pravesh Verma said, “Efforts are being made to clean Yamuna from increasing STP capacity to increased flow. We have received explicit instructions, continuous meetings with our Home Minister—who seeks comprehensive updates every twenty days — and full cooperation from the chief minister.”

NMCGhad approved the funding of ₹518.88 crore for the project in November 2025. Under the arrangement, the central government will help with the development cost while the operation and maintenance cost will be borne by the Delhi government.

There are three components of the project — tapping of untreated sewage from the Jahangirpuri drain to the existing STPs at Coronation Pillar through pipelines, producing highly treated wastewater and live monitoring of the parameters via SCADA system and conveyance channels and pumping mechanism to take the water to Wazirabad.

22km of Yamuna from Wazirabad to Okhla is only 2% of the river length but it has 76% of the overall pollution load. Below Wazirabad, the Najafgarh drain meets Yamuna, emptying 800 MGD of untreated effluents. With clean raw water drawn up for drinking purposes, the river largely carries untreated sewage in this section.

Environmental flow, or e-flow, refers to the minimum flow of water required in a river to sustain its ecological health. The Yamuna in Delhi has long fallen short of this benchmark. Experts argue that the 10 cumecs currently allocated to Delhi is grossly insufficient, leaving the river dry and unable to flush out pollutants. Studies, including those by the National Institute of Hydrology, have pointed to a more realistic figure: 23 cumecs.

Doubling the flow of the river in Delhi, experts said, will help the river breathe, dilute toxins in the river and give it hope to sustain at least some aquatic life. In 2023, a parliamentary panel on water resources had called for an e-flow of at least 23 cumecs to ensure basic ecological functioning and prevent visible symptoms of pollution such as frothing.

DJB official explained that the close duct conveyance system would help dilute the pollution load, while improving river’s ecological health. Elevated RCC channels will be set up crossing the Jahangirpuri drain, pumping station for 318 MLD highly treated water, concrete shafts and pipes to carry the water to Yamuna near Wazirabad. The department will also set up two Truss bridges to cross the Jahangirpuri drain and a supplementary drain as part of pathway for moving water to Wazirabad. The developing agency will be responsible for 15 years of operation and maintenance of conveyance system on which ₹340 crore are likely to be spent.

According to the overall rejuvenation plan, treated water from the Coronation Pillar and Yamuna Vihar STPs will be released near Wazirabad through a closed-duct system while the Okhla STP will discharge into the Yamuna via the Abul Fazal drain. Combined, these facilities are expected to add 1,244 MLD of treated water to the Yamuna’s depleted stream.

Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) said, “Quality of treated water will have to be ensured. The water being dumped in the river should be further purified to the inland water level.”

Rawat added, “We need to focus on ensuring more fresh water in the river stream. At present, Yamuna is acting as a large drain. The long-term solution remains ensuring our drains are no longer carrying sewage into the river directly.”