A parliamentary panel has said the Yamuna river's capacity to sustain life have been found to be almost non-existent in the Delhi stretch, noting that 23 out of the 33 monitored sites, including six in the national capital, failed to meet primary water quality standards.
The Yamuna flows through a 40 km stretch in Delhi, entering at Palla from Haryana and exiting at Asgarpur into Uttar Pradesh.
The dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, which reflect the river's capacity to sustain life, were found to be almost non-existent in the Delhi stretch, the parliamentary standing committee on water resources said in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
In its report on the Upper Yamuna River Cleaning Project and river bed management in Delhi, the panel warned that despite the construction and upgrade of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, pollution levels remain alarmingly high.
The Committee called for a coordinated response from all stakeholders to tackle pollution and restore the river's health.
It added that out of the 33 monitored sites, only four in Uttarakhand and four in Himachal Pradesh met the primary water quality criteria.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) assessed water quality at 33 locations between January 2021 and May 2023, with state pollution control boards. The assessment covered four key parameters of Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Fecal Coliform (FC).
The analysis showed 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 complied with the standards in 2021, although the Palla site showed improvement in 2022 and 2023.
The panel raised particular 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.
Legacy sludge in the Yamuna riverbed remains a major concern.
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