NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel on water resources, in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, stated that the Yamuna river’s ability to sustain life has been found to be nearly nonexistent in the Delhi stretch.
The report highlighted that 23 out of the 33 monitored sites, including six in the national capital, failed to meet basic water quality standards. The Yamuna flows through a 40 km stretch in Delhi, entering from Palla in Haryana and exiting at Asgarpur into Uttar Pradesh.
The dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, which indicate the river's ability to sustain life, were found to be nearly nonexistent in the Delhi stretch.
Calling for a coordinated response from all stakeholders to address pollution and restore the river's health, the report on the Upper Yamuna River Cleaning Project and riverbed management in Delhi warned that, despite the construction and upgrade of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, pollution levels remain alarmingly high.
The report highlighted that out of the 33 monitored sites, only four in Uttarakhand and four in Himachal Pradesh met the basic water quality criteria.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in collaboration with state pollution control boards, assessed water quality at 33 locations between January 2021 and May 2023.
The assessment focused on four key parameters: Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Fecal Coliform (FC).
The analysis revealed that all four monitored sites in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh met the required standards, while all six sites in Haryana failed.
In Delhi, none of the seven sites met the standards in 2021, although the Palla site showed improvement in 2022.
The panel raised concerns over encroachment along the Yamuna floodplains. While Delhi and Haryana provided information on encroachments, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand are yet to furnish complete details. The floodplain zone of the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh remains undemarcated, despite its ecological importance in flood management.
The Committee highlighted that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) retrieved approximately 477.79 hectares from encroachments along the floodplains. However, some parts of the floodplains remain occupied due to ongoing litigation.
The panel urged the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation to work with the DDA and the state governments to expedite the removal of encroachments and ensure the restoration of the floodplain ecosystem.
However, the panel noted that no data is available on unauthorized industrial units that may be discharging untreated effluents into the Yamuna. It recommended that the Delhi government conduct a comprehensive study to identify such units and strengthen pollution control measures.
The panel also highlighted the failure to treat domestic sewage, pointing out that nearly 22 major drains discharge untreated sewage directly into the Yamuna, according to the report.