The cleaning of Yamuna River began shortly after Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a landslide victory in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), taking 48 out of the 70 assembly seats up for grabs. The new government was officially sworn in under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on 20 February. Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena unveiled a four-pronged strategy aimed at cleaning up the Yamuna on February 17.
BJP’s Poll Promise
Cleaning of the holy river was one of the BJP’s main electoral promise for the Delhi Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his campaign, criticised the previous AAP government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, for failing to address the river’s deteriorating condition. Kejriwal on his part had alleged that BJP were conspired to pollute the river to defame his government in order to gain an edge in the elections.
The rejuvenation efforts had initially gained momentum in January 2023, following the establishment of a high-level committee under the National Green Tribunal chaired by the Lieutenant Governor. However, the progress was stalled after the Kejriwal-led AAP government challenged the committee’s formation in the Supreme Court. The apex court then stayed the NGT order on 10 July, 2023, halting the committee’s operations after just five meetings, which had reportedly begun to show slight improvements in the river’s chemical and biological oxygen demand levels.
As part of its elections manifesto or Sankalp Patra, the BJP pledged to set up a “Yamuna Kosh” to fund river rejuvenation projects and develop a vibrant riverfront along the banks.
The plan also includes expanding sewage treatment capacity to 1,000 MGD and enhancing common effluent treatment plant capacity to 220 million liters per day.
What is the plan?
The cleaning operation will reportedly follow a comprehensive four-pronged strategy aimed at freeing the Yamuna from heavy pollution within three years. The efforts involve removing trash and silt with high-end machinery, simultaneous drain cleaning operations for the Najafgarh and other supplementary drains, monitoring of sewage treatment and a strict vigil on the Industrial charges.
Trash skimmers, weed harvestors, and dredgers have already been deployed to remove waste from the river stream, according to video shared by the Raj Niwas. Daily monitoring of the capacity and performance of existing sewage treatment plants (STPs) while also constructing new and decentralized STPs to treat the estimated shortfall of 400 million gallons per day of sewage.
The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been directed to monitor and prevent the discharge of untreated industrial effluents into the river system.
The Delhi L-G has taken an active role in spearheading the initiative, meeting with key officials from the irrigation, flood control, and environment departments as execution of this plan will require seamless coordination between various agencies such as the Municipal Corporation, the Public Department, the Jal Board, and the Development Authority among others.
Officials have reiterated that the river cleaning initiative will be closely monitored on weekly basis, ensuring accountability and swift action when necessary.
Manbilas Singh is a talented writer and journalist who focuses on the finer details in every story and values integrity above everything. A self-proclaimed sleuth, he strives to expose the fine print behind seemingly mundane activities and aims to uncover the truth that is hidden from the general public. In his time away from work, he is a music aficionado and a nerd who revels in video & board games, books and Formula 1.
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