NEW DELHI: The Centre has announced that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will consult the Uttar Pradesh government to create a mechanism for bringing Ganga waters to Delhi to clean the Yamuna river. The project is under evaluation.
Union Minister of Jal Shakti CR Paatil told TNIE, “Home Minister Amit Shah will discuss this matter with UP CM Yogi Adityanath to persuade him to divert some water to clean the Yamuna.”
“We will utilise any source to clean and rejuvenate the Yamuna River. We are assessing the economic feasibility of how Ganga water can be brought in for this purpose,” he stated.
The BJP had promised to clean the Yamuna during the Assembly poll campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a similar commitment.
To enhance the Yamuna flow and maintain its environmental health, the Central Water Commission found the need for additional water from the Ganga river. However, the Uttar Pradesh government is hesitant to share the Ganga canal water, citing a lack of surplus.
In April, a meeting attended by Modi, Shah, and Delhi’s Chief Secretary Dharmendra outlined a plan to bring additional water to Yamuna. A proposal was then shared with the UP government outlining how to divert water from the Upper Ganga Canal through its branch channels to Delhi for at least three years.
One of these branch channels connects to the Yamuna approximately 20 km upstream of Wazirabad barrage, located on the outskirts of Delhi.
After receiving a negative response to the proposal, the Centre shot off another letter through the Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga, Rajeev Kumar Mittal. Mittal stated that sharing a certain amount of water with
Delhi will not impact UP’s riparian rights.
21 of 37 STPs in capital fail to meet standards
Additionally, the Union Government also offered to assist UP in covering any extra costs or providing infrastructural support needed for the water-sharing. The Centre also entrusted several bureaucrats with experience in UP’s administrative system with the task of persuading the UP government.
At present, there are 37 sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Delhi, of which 21 fail to meet various standards due to outdated models. The Union Government even assured UP that Delhi will upgrade its STP infrastructure in the next three years.
However, a UP official stated, “Once the water supply begins, it will be difficult to stop it, creating complications for future governments.” With UP facing assembly elections in early 2027, the opposition may utilise this water-sharing initiative to foster an anti-incumbency sentiment in the state.
Importantly, Modi does not want to be portrayed as the proponent of this plan but as a facilitator. Political optics are being carefully crafted to depict cooperation between the two states in their efforts to clean “Yamuna Maiya”.