Yamuna River ‘virtually non-existent’ in Delhi, says parliamentary panel report

Acting upon a submission by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the committee observed that the Yamuna was “virtually non-existent” in Delhi due to insufficient dissolved oxygen levels “which indicate whether the river is alive or not”, and called for an “urgent, lucid and coordinated response” from all stakeholders to reduce pollution.

The committee examined the effectiveness of existing pollution control measures and underlined severe deficiencies in sewage treatment capacity, industrial effluent management, and environmental flow regulations.

For years, the focus of various stakeholders, including the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, has been to augment the capacity of sewage treatment plants (STPs) and common effluent treatment plants. The Centre too, under the Yamuna Action Plan since 1993, has spent Rs 1,514.70 crore to build STPs in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. While such steps are being taken, the key concern of maintaining an adequate environmental flow remains unaddressed, the committee’s findings revealed.

The panel observed that “there is almost nil environmental flow available at downstream of Wazirabad Barrage during 9 out of 12 months in a year…”.

The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) had recommended increasing the e-flow to 23 cumecs in the lean season, but the Haryana government had refused citing the 1994 inter-state water-sharing agreement which is to be reviewed after 2025. There was also no response by the Haryana Irrigation Department over the committee’s previous recommendation.

As per the 1994 agreement, maintenance of e-flow of up to 10 cumecs was agreed upon. Therefore, the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) informed the committee that the issue could be considered for review post-2025.

In its report, the committee pointed out that though the department clearly stated that “even if DJB treats the entire sewage generated in Delhi up to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 10 mg/l, desired water quality of BOD less than 3 mg/l & Dissolved Oxygen (DO) more than 5 mg/l may not be achieved in river Yamuna due to unavailability of fresh water in the river downstream of Wazirabad”. It then reiterated that the department should “take all the necessary steps to persuade all Yamuna basin states to maintain sufficient amount of e-flow for the overall health of the river”.

As per the report’s key findings, 23 out of 33 locations on Yamuna River (six in Haryana and Delhi each, and 11 in Uttar Pradesh) – where water quality assessments by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are being carried out – are not suitable for bathing. As per the CPCB’s primary water quality criteria for bathing, the DO should be 5 mg/l or more with BOD 3 mg/l or less and faecal coliform less than 2,500 MPN/100 ml.

With no dissolved oxygen in the around 40 km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, except Palla, and the water improving only after the Chambal River joins in, the committee reiterated that a study be undertaken by NMCG in coordination with the environment ministry to assess the damage to the ecology of the river and its aquatic life.

The NMCG had informed the committee despite its earlier recommendation to conduct the study that, “So far, no such study on ecological assessment has been conducted on river Yamuna in the National Capital Territory (the stretch between downstream of Wazirabad Barrage after meeting Najafgarh Drain to Asgarpur Village) under the Namami Gange Programme (NGP), yet. The initiatives for pollution abatement through tapping of sewage drains, are being implemented under the Namami Gange Programme in Delhi region and on completion it may help in improvement of water quality vis a vis aquatic life.”

Besides this, the committee also took up the matter of foaming in Yamuna River and noted that there was no response from the DJB, and found “no concrete response” to reduce the foam formation in the river in the action taken reports submitted by other departments including the DPCC, NMCG and Uttar Pradesh irrigation department. The DPCC had only mentioned that it carried out dosing of anti-foaming agents during Chhath Puja and improved the functioning of STPs and banned sale of soaps and detergents non-confirming to BIS standards.

The committee, in its previous report, had said that efforts needed to be made to introduce alternatives such as sodium aluminium silicate, sodium citrate, among others for phosphates in detergents. A primary component found in detergents called surfactants, which pose environmental risks and are released from households or commercial establishments, had to get biodegraded in sewage treatment plants, the committee reiterated.

Apart from these, the key issues taken up by the committee were encroachment on Yamuna floodplains; while Delhi and Haryana showed progress, data by key states, including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, were not available.

On the issue of the presence of heavy metals like lead, copper, zinc, nickel, cadmium and chromium in the Yamuna riverbed, the committee had earlier recommended river bed management through dredging. While DJB did not submit a response, the NMCG cited a 2017 Chitale Committee Report which advised against large-scale dredging or dredging of rivers. Observing the presence of metals beyond permissible limits, the commission once again called for controlled dredging and stated, “the committee reiterate that the department may take pro-active steps at least for controlled dredging of the sludge which cannot be left to the vagaries of monsoon rains and whose continued presence may further decay the water quality of such an important river”.

Other issues that were dealt with include the lack of data on the unauthorised industries operating in Delhi as well as the pollution caused by open pyres. The commission observed that only one electric/CNG crematorium exists near Yamuna’s banks and no study has been commissioned on its impact.