Yamuna Clean-Up Initiative

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Delhi has committed to cleaning the Yamuna river within three years. This initiative is ambitious, considering past challenges in cleaning the Ganga river.

Ganga Action Plan (GAP)

The GAP was initiated in 1985 by the Rajiv Gandhi government. A report in 2009 highlighted the use of funds and assets created under GAP. It evaluated the water quality using three key parameters:

• Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
• Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
• Total Coliform Count (TC)

Key findings include:

• In 1986 and 2008, DO levels were largely fit for drinking, except in Varanasi.
• BOD improved but remained unsuitable for bathing and drinking at many sites.
• TC worsened significantly, with most sites unfit for bathing.

Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs)

The first phase of GAP began in 1986, followed by a second in 1993. Despite achieving target capacities in all states, the STP capacity remains inadequate:

• Ganga cities generate 2,723 million litres of sewage per day, but treatment capacity is only 1,208.8 million litres.
• Yamuna cities generate 4,881.89 million litres per day, with a capacity of 3,135.8 million litres.
• Many STPs operate at only 70% capacity due to inadequate resources and power supply.

Current Water Quality

Recent data shows persistent pollution issues:

• Faecal coliform levels exceeded permissible bathing levels at numerous sites along the Ganga in 2023.
• During the Maha Kumbh, Ganga and Yamuna exceeded permissible faecal coliform counts despite efforts to clean them.
• The Yamuna has extremely high pollution levels, with coliform counts 22 million times above the permissible limit for bathing.

Challenges and Future Tasks

To achieve the cleanup goal, the following actions are required:

• Connect all 20 drains to sufficient STPs and build new ones where necessary.
• Ensure all households and industrial units are connected to treatment facilities.
• Increase the capacities of existing STPs and ensure their proper maintenance.

The task is daunting but crucial for the health of the Yamuna river and the well-being of the populations relying on it.