Activist writes to Delhi pollution board over missing Yamuna data since Jan

Pankaj Kumar criticized the DPCC for failing to upload crucial water quality reports, warning that the lack of data undermines pollution monitoring efforts.

A Yamuna activist has written to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), flagging delays in uploading monthly water quality reports for the river, sewage treatment plants (STPs), major drains and common effluent treatment plants (CETPs), and warning that the lack of updated data undermines public scrutiny of pollution levels.

In a letter to the DPCC chairperson, activist Pankaj Kumar said the latest analysis report on the Yamuna’s water quality and major drains has not been published since January. (Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times file photo)

In a letter to the DPCC chairperson, activist Pankaj Kumar said the latest analysis report on the Yamuna’s water quality and major drains has not been published since January, while reports for Delhi’s CETPs and STPs have not been uploaded since December 2025.

“It is with profound disappointment and frustration that we address this letter to you, highlighting the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC) blatant and unacceptable irregularity in fulfilling its fundamental duty to publish monthly water quality analysis reports on its official portal,” Kumar wrote.

He added that as the custodian of environmental monitoring in Delhi, the DPCC’s role in tracking pollution levels in the Yamuna, major drains, STPs and CETPs was not optional but a statutory obligation.

“These reports are indispensable for evaluating compliance with environmental standards, assessing treatment efficacy, safeguarding public health, enforcing regulations, and devising effective pollution abatement strategies. Yet, DPCC’s persistent negligence in making this critical data publicly available undermines these objectives and erodes public trust in your institution,” the letter said.

HT had reported on December 23 that the same monthly data had not been available for over three months at the time. While the last monthly reports for STPs and CETPs had only been uploaded till September, the latest reports on the Yamuna and Delhi’s major drains had been uploaded till October, around the time of Chhath Puja when large quantities of water were released into the river through the Hathnikund barrage.

Days after the report, the DPCC uploaded data till December. However, the information has since not been updated again.

More recently, on March 4, HT reported that toxic froth and an ammoniacal stench at the Wazirabad barrage — a crucial drinking water source for Delhi — had triggered fresh concerns about pollution levels in the Yamuna. In the absence of updated monthly reports, however, the actual extent of the impact remains unclear.

Kumar said delays in publishing the data directly affect efforts to rejuvenate the river.

“Civil society, including environmental activists, researchers and concerned citizens of Delhi, have an unequivocal right to know the real-time status and functioning of STPs and CETPs, which are pivotal in treating sewage and industrial effluents before discharge into the Yamuna,” he said.

The DPCC chairperson did not comment on the matter.

Yamuna water quality reports from November and December indicated high levels of faecal coliform, phosphate and ammoniacal nitrogen, along with deteriorating biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD). all of which point to organic pollution in the river.

According to DPCC data, faecal coliform levels, an indicator of untreated sewage entering the river, rose sharply over the two months. In December, faecal coliform peaked at 92,000 units per 100ml, up from 24,000 units per 100ml in November and 8,000 units per 100ml in October. The safe limit is 2,500 units per 100ml, while the desired standard is 500 units per 100ml.

BOD followed a similar trend. After peaking at 25 mg/l in October, it rose to 33 mg/l in November before easing back to 25 mg/l in December -- still more than eight times the acceptable limit of 3 mg/l.

Dissolved oxygen (DO), essential for aquatic life, ranged between 0.5 mg/l and 8.5 mg/l in November — dropping to zero at two locations — and between 0.8 mg/l and 8 mg/l in December, against the required minimum of 5 mg/l.