Mobile vans to monitor pollution: Delhi govt aims to expand efforts to clean Yamuna

Officials said tenders have now been floated to hire a mobile water quality monitoring van at an estimated cost of around Rs 3 crore.

“These vans can navigate narrow roads and conduct simultaneous sampling and analysis in the field, helping cover areas beyond the reach of conventional fixed online monitoring stations (OLMS),” an official explained.

The government is also working on setting up 41 OLMS units, including six along different stretches of the Yamuna.

“Six stations will analyse the pollution load in the river, while the remaining 35 will monitor major drains discharging into it,” another official said. The primary objective is real-time monitoring to aid in cleaning the river.

In addition to responding to contamination incidents, the mobile testing vans will support routine surveillance, random inspections, and special enforcement drives across zones.

This is expected to strengthen preventive monitoring and enable early detection of water quality issues.

“By reducing dependence on fixed laboratories and enhancing field-level testing capacity, the proposed mobile system will significantly improve operational efficiency, responsiveness, and coverage,” another official said.

Officials added that the shortlisted contractor will be responsible for installing, operating, and maintaining the mobile monitoring system for a period of five years.

At least 18 major drains discharge wastewater directly into the Yamuna in Delhi, contributing significantly to the river’s pollution load.

A broader assessment has identified around 24 such drains, including those that have been partially intercepted or are under various stages of treatment, highlighting the scale of the challenge in cleaning the river.

Cleaning Yamuna was one of the major poll promises of the BJP during the Assembly elections last year before it came to power. Officials also said that the Centre is directly monitoring the progress of Yamuna cleaning and the initiatives being taken.