Delhi steps up Yamuna clean-up: Sewage treatment plant to be strengthened for ₹518cr

Delhi government approves ₹518.88 crore for a sewage treatment project to improve Yamuna's water quality, set for completion in 1.5 years.

New Delhi: As part of the Yamuna clean-up project, the Delhi government has approved funding of ₹518.88 crore for repurposing the Coronation Pillar sewage treatment plant to treat 30 million gallons per day (mgd) of sewage from the Jahangirpuri drain and connect it to the Yamuna to improve its water quality, senior government officials said.

Untreated sewage inflow is a key factor for Yamuna pollution. (HT Archive)

“The central government will help with the development cost while the operation and maintenance cost will be borne by the Delhi government. The administrative approval and expenditure sanction has been issued and the project will be completed in 1.5 years,” an official familiar with the matter said.

The project consists of three components: tapping untreated sewage from the Jahangirpuri drain through pipelines, establishing a pumping facility with a capacity of 64 million litres per day, and installing a close-duct system to pump treated sewage from the plant to the river.

“We will set up elevated RCC channels for crossing the Jahangirpuri drain, with two pumping station, 64 MLD station for taking untreated sewage from Jahangirpuri drain to the STP and 318 MLD pumphouse is for carrying treated water from plant to Yamuna,” the official said.

The department will also set up two truss bridges as part of the pathway to move water to Wazirabad. A selected agency will be responsible for 15 years of operation and maintenance of the conveyance system, which is expected to account for ₹340 crore of the total cost.

On June 24, 2025, HT reported that the central government monitored the Yamuna rejuvenation plan about increasing e-flow through Coronation Pillar and Yamuna Vihar plants. The 22km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, from the Wazirabad Barrage to the Okhla Barrage, is less than 2% of the river’s total length, but accounts for nearly 76% of its total pollution.

Environmental flow, or e-flow, refers to the minimum water required in a river to maintain its ecological health.

Experts and agencies such as the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the environment department have pegged this requirement for the Yamuna at 23 cubic metres per second (cumecs), but the current flow is around 10 cumecs. A 2023 parliamentary panel had also urged immediate action to improve e-flow to prevent the river’s visible pollution symptoms, such as frothing and foul odour, particularly in areas like Kalindi Kunj and Okhla.

Government officials said that in this context, a separate conveyance system will bypass open drains that often recontaminate the water.

Under the rejuvenation plan, the Coronation Pillar and Yamuna Vihar STPs are expected to add 1,244mld of treated water to the Yamuna.

The Coronation Pillar STP was opened in March 2022 to pump treated water upstream to Palla to augment the drinking water supply, but despite receiving approval from the Upper Yamuna Board, the plan was shelved amid objections from Haryana.

Currently, the Delhi Jal Board plans to release a total of 453mld of treated water from the Coronation Pillar STP downstream of Wazirabad.

Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) said while some marginal dilution will take place, it but the flow seems insufficient. “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. In the previous case of using it for potable water, strict monitoring would have been ensured as it impacts health of people but the agencies become lax when it comes to the river’s health.” In long term, we need to focus on ensuring more fresh water in the river stream. Use highly treated water for secondary uses like washing and horticulture and equal amount of fresh water be allowed to flow in the river. “At present, the Yamuna is acting as a large drain. The long-term solution remains ensuring our drains are no longer carrying sewage into the river directly,” said Rawat.