'Hard to call it river’: CR Patil slams state of Yamuna in Delhi, sets 3-year goal for drinkable water

Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil at the Powering Bharat Summit

Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil announced on Friday that the Yamuna river in Delhi is expected to be clean enough for bathing within the next one and a half years, with the water projected to become drinkable in another 1.5 years thereafter.

“Yamuna ko abhi nadi kehna mushkil he hai. Delhi ke nadi ka jo part hai wo poora nallah bann gaya hai (It is difficult to call Yamuna a river. The part of the river in Delhi has become a complete drain),” he said.

Patil was speaking at Powering Bharat Summit organised by Network18 in collaboration with Moneycontrol, News18 India, and CNBC Awaaz.

The minister stated that after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won the Delhi Assembly elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting to discuss cleaning of the river. He added that a plan has been made with the involvement of the PMO, Jal Shakti Ministry, Home Minister Amit Shah since Delhi is a union territory and the Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta.

Patil said in 45 days the government will complete the task of assessment of the entire 48 kilometer stretch of the river in Delhi using artificial intelligence (AI). "In fact, AI will be used in all projects - right from planning to execution," he stated.

The BJP government in Delhi plans to develop a Yamuna riverfront, on the lines of the Sabarmati riverfront, ensuring 24x7 commercial establishments, interactive shows, theatres and other entertainment facilities along the riverbank. It also wants to hold an annual festival once the riverfront is ready.

The BJP's plan in Delhi also includes setting up a Yamuna Kosh to revitalise the river, which will include measures such as full treatment of wastewater from drains like Barapullah, Shahdara and Ghazipur, before it flows into the Yamuna and ensuring “zero industrial emissions” into the Yamuna.

The party’s poll manifesto talked about treating water from all drains flowing into the Sahibi River, which, currently, has become a sewer and is commonly known as the Najafgarh drain.

A significant aspect of the BJP’s plan to clean up the Yamuna is to expand Delhi’s existing sewage treatment plant capacity to 1,000 million gallons per day (MGD) from the current 667 MGD. It also plans to increase the city’s common effluent treatment plant capacity to 220 MLD from about 200 MLD.

But experts say the mission to clean the Yamuna will need more than just high-end machinery. The Yamuna collects 79 percent of its total pollution only from Delhi, making it the one of the most polluted rivers of India.