Explained: How Difficult it is to Clean Yamuna?

New Delhi: The pollution of the Yamuna river has been a recurring topic and a political tool for several decades. Various political parties, including the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have consistently included it in their election manifestos.

However, an examination of the decisions made indicates that a straightforward solution to the complex problem is being ignored, largely due to political considerations. If the current approach persists, the Yamuna is unlikely to be effectively cleaned.

In January 2023, the National Green Tribunal established a high-level committee to address the issue. Justice A K Goel, the tribunal’s chairperson, highlighted the incomplete execution of significant measures identified for the river’s rejuvenation.

The bench, which included Justice Sudhir Agarwal and Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi as judicial members, along with experts A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad, emphasized the substantial gap between sewage generation and available treatment facilities.

According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data, Yamuna’s water quality reveals elevated levels of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and a significant presence of faecal coliform.

It suggests that the existence of multiple authorities in Delhi may be a contributing factor to the lack of success in addressing the issue. The absence of clear ownership and accountability is evident, with considerable expenditures yielding insufficient results. Additionally, the judicial oversight has persisted for nearly 29 years.

Dr Nandita Moitra, a scientist at Air and Water Lab of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), and board’s Additional Director D K Singh declined to make any comments.

According to a report submitted before a high-level committee on the Rejuvenation of Yamuna in a recent meeting, water quality of the river at eight locations (Palla, Wazirabad, ISBT Bridge, ITO Bridge, Nizamudin Bridge, Okhla Barrage, Agra Canal at Okhla Barrage and Asgarpur) is being monitored by the DPCC on monthly basis.

The report claims that “there is improvement in the water quality river Yamuna at ISBT Bridge, ITO Bridge, Nizamudin Bridge, Okhla Barrage, Agra Canal at Okhla Barrage and Asgarpur in respect of BOD, COD & fecal coliform in the month of December 2023 in comparison to December 2022”.

The BOD or biochemical oxygen demand represents the amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) consumed by biological organisms when they decompose organic matter in water. The COD or chemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen consumed when the water sample is chemically oxidised.

The presence of fecal coliform bacteria in aquatic environments indicates that the water has been contaminated with the fecal material of humans or other animals.

The committee took notice of the water quality of the Najafgarh Drain and River Yamuna and observed that BOD, COD and Faecal Coliform in the Najafgarh drain, the ISBT (after meeting the Najafgarh drain) and Asgarpur (D/S of Okhla barrage after confluence of Shahdara and Tuglakabad drains) have improved between January 2023 to December 2023 in comparison to corresponding months of of the previous year.

The DPCC further informed the committee that there are 37 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of Delhi Jai Board, operating in Delhi, out of which 36 were monitored in the month of December 2023.

Of the 36 monitored STPs, 15 were meeting the prescribed standards of the BOD (10 mg/l) and TSS (10 mg/l). All 36 monitored STPs were found complying with respect to design parameters of the BOD.

Why is Yamuna So Polluted?

The degradation of the Yamuna water quality in Delhi, particularly beyond the Wazirabad barrage, can be attributed to the continuous release of untreated wastewater, primarily from domestic origins, into the river.

Another contributing factor is the insufficient availability of freshwater in the river after the Wazirabad barrage, particularly during non-monsoon periods. This scarcity is crucial for sustaining the river’s self-purification capacity.

The river water serves various purposes, including abstraction and in-stream uses like irrigation, domestic water supply and industrial processes. Unfortunately, the river has been subject to excessive exploitation both in terms of quantity and quality.

The pollution of the river stems from both point and nonpoint sources, with Delhi being the primary contributor, followed by Agra and Mathura. Approximately 85% of the overall pollution emanates from domestic sources.

The pollution in the Yamuna is not solely attributed to residential areas and industries but also extends to agricultural lands. When it rains, pesticides and fertilizers from the soil are washed away, finding their way into the river.

A ‘Software Problem’

According to research paper titled ‘Physicochemical and biological analysis of river Yamuna at Palla station from 2009 to 2019’, the government has made a decision to uphold a water flow of 10 cubic meters per second (cumecs) in the downstream area of the Yamuna to safeguard aquatic life in the river.

Throughout the entire study period, the average discharge in the river was recorded at 123.7 cumecs, with the minimum often falling well below the recommended 10 cumecs set by the Government of India.

Additionally, there has been a noticeable decline in water discharge in recent years. At Baghpat, the mean water flow occasionally dropped significantly below five cumecs.

While talking to The Mooknayak, Chandra Bhushan, environmentalist and the founder-CEO of International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology, revealed that even though the numbers provided by the DPCC might look promising, at the end of the day, they do not matter.

“In any month, the BOD has not gone under 50. How is that making any difference?” he asked.

The environmentalist asserted that the rejuvenation process has not been successful in the last 30 years and will not be successful now. According to him, Yamuna is not a “hardware issue but a software problem”.

He elaborated merely installing sewage treatment plants wouldn’t be sufficient to clean the river. Each state draws freshwater from the river while simultaneously discharging wastewater into it. If freshwater extraction continues unchecked and waste dumping persists, water treatment efforts would be futile, he said.

“No country in the world has solved its river pollution problem by only installing treatment plants. There is a concept of ecological flow. You need to let freshwater in,” he added.

Using another example, he pointed out that a similar situation exists with the Ganga River. “We extract all the freshwater and subsequently treat the water. It's unrealistic to expect the river to become clean under these circumstances,” he asserted.

“The Yamuna should ideally retain 30-50% freshwater. It is impractical to extract all the freshwater and then attempt to treat it. Disrupting the ecosystem and expecting a solution through water purification alone will not work,” he said.

The environmentalist then talked about the only logical solution he could think of. He commented that the issue of Yamuna is an interstate issue that requires a collective agreement among the states bordering the river.

A consensus must be reached on the permissible amount of water extraction, leaving a portion for nature. The remaining water can then be treated using plants or other methods.

This issue is inherently political and demands a return to the drawing board, acknowledging that 100% extraction of freshwater is unsustainable.

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