Yamuna, air pollution: How BJP govt in Delhi tackled major environmental challenges in first 100 days

What was promised

The BJP’s poll manifesto called for nothing less than a revival of the Yamuna’s “former glory”. It pledged to clean up the river within three years in power, instituting a dedicated “Yamuna Kosh” fund, and to develop a riverfront similar to the one in Gujarat at Sabarmati river.

The party vowed full treatment of wastewater from major drains, like Barapullah, Shahdara, and Ghazipur, before they empty into the river, along with expanding sewage treatment capacity.

What has been done

The 2025-26 Budget has earmarked Rs 9,000 crore for water-and-sewer upgrades, including ₹250 crore to replace corroded mains in trans-Yamuna zones and funds for 13,000 JJ-cluster and 2.5 lakh colony household sewer connections.

A third-party STP audit has also been ordered, Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa told The Indian Express during an interview this week.

So far, five STP-upgrades inherited from the previous government have inched past the 90%-cent mark. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB’s) 100-day tracker lists the status of their upgradation:

Rithala (40 MGD or million gallons per day ) – 100%

Sonia Vihar adjunct (7 MGD) – 99 %

Delhi Gate Phase III (10 MGD) – 98 %

Najafgarh–Keshopur Phase II and III – 90 %

Rohini-Narela-Coronation Pillar corridor – 95 %

Meanwhile, the DJB has mapped its next tranche of the Budget allocation: a Rs 3,104-crore package of 40 decentralised STPs and 330 km of trunk sewers, which serve as the main artery for transporting wastewater to a treatment plant, aimed at 416 unauthorised colonies and 115 villages in the Najafgarh, Chhatarpur, Matiala, Bijwasan, Mundka, Narela and Bawana belts.

The project’s first-year outlay of Rs 613 crore has been booked under the Centre’s AMRUT 2.0 scheme, while the remaining expenditure will be split over 2026-27, The Indian Express reported on on May 8.

Similarly, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee rolled out a 14-point dust mitigation plan on May 22, focusing on water sprinkling, installing of particulate matter pollution monitors as well as proper disposal of construction and demolition waste.

The body made it mandatory for projects equal to or larger than 500 square metres to register on its portal for monitoring.

Sirsa also ordered in May for the vehicles inside forest and protected areas to be transitioned to electric-run. He also said that tendering of 70 mechanical road sweepers for cleaning of Public Works Department roads is in progress.

In another key measure, the government has revised tree felling and pruning SOP.

Intensifying its crackdown on end-of-life vehicles monitoring, AI cameras have also been installed at 90% of fuel stations.

Sirsa in the interview with The Indian Express also said that preemptive notices have been sent to such vehicle owners in neighbouring states. From November 1, all transport or commercial goods vehicles not compliant with BS-VI, CNG, LNG, or EV (electrical vehicle) standards will be banned from entering Delhi.

Following the Centre for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) directions, the government will stop fueling all end-of-life vehicles after July.