Overview
- Centre for Science and Environment’s new analysis says Delhi’s 22‑km stretch contributes over 80% of the Yamuna’s pollution, with Najafgarh and Shahdara drains responsible for roughly 84% of the load.
- CSE reports that despite ₹6,856 crore spent from 2017 to 2022 and expanded treatment capacity, many of Delhi’s 37 sewage plants fail discharge standards and enforcement gaps persist, including illegal tanker dumping.
- AAP cited an RTI based on CPCB testing to allege all 37 STPs failed to meet treatment norms, with faecal coliform levels in most plants hundreds of times above permissible limits.
- The Delhi government said the cited inspection was from June and asserted conditions have improved in recent months, while the BJP blamed operational failures on the previous Kejriwal administration and claimed upgrades at key drains.
- CSE calls for a targeted agenda that prioritises fixing STP operations, managing waste from non‑sewered areas, reusing treated effluent, and reworking plans for the Najafgarh and Shahdara drains; activists also criticised festival‑time froth reduction as cosmetic.