Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on the rejuvenation of the Yamuna with Union home minister Amit Shah, Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta, and senior officials from the Centre and the Delhi government at his residence at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, officials said on Thursday.
Widespread public participation in cleaning the river, the use of real-time data and space technology to track drain flows, regular assessment of sewage treatment plants, and the creation of a corpus for the river were among the ideas discussed during the meeting held on Wednesday, the officials cited above said.
Wednesday’s high-level meeting came a day after the Delhi government’s expenditure and finance committee, headed by chief minister Rekha Gupta, approved the setting up of 27 decentralised sewage treatment plants (D-STPs), related facilities, and infrastructure at a cost of ₹3,140 crore for cleaning the Yamuna.
The PM directed that the best available technology be harnessed to gather micro-level real-time data to measure drain flows and monitor the functioning of sewage treatment plants, a statement from the Delhi CM’s office said. He also advised that space technology be used for this purpose, it added.
“Centre will work closely with the Delhi government to ensure world class infrastructure and ‘ease of living’ for my sisters and brothers of Delhi,” the PM posted on X on Thursday.
A clean Yamuna was among the key promises made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2025 Delhi assembly election and remained a hot-button issue during the campaign.
In his victory speech after the Delhi election results were announced on February 8, the PM began and ended with an invocation to the river, “Yamuna ki jai.” “The existence of Delhi itself has flourished in the lap of Mother Yamuna. The people of Delhi have been crying after seeing the condition of the Yamuna, as the AAPda in Delhi has insulted this faith,” he said, referring to the previous AAP government.
In March, a parliamentary standing committee report on the Yamuna found that the river was virtually “dead” in the stretch that flows through the national capital—from Palla to Okhla—with the total raw sewage dumped far exceeding the city’s sewage treatment capacity.
According to officials, steps to be taken in the Haryana stretch of the river, as well as the downstream section from Delhi to the Sangam in Prayagraj, were also discussed during the meeting.
The PM also called for a “Jan Bhagidari Movement” to clean the river, enlisting volunteers and organising public events around the Yamuna, the CM’s office said.
Underlining the importance of cleaning the Yamuna, the PM said the experience of Delhi’s residents during Chhath Puja should improve. High levels of pollutants in the river—which often lead to the formation of foam—have been a major concern during the festival.
The meeting also reviewed an agency-wise action plan to clean the river. The plan included short-term activities (three months), medium-term steps (three months to 1.5 years), and long-term measures (1.5 to three years), largely related to drain management, industrial waste control, identifying gaps in wastewater treatment, and sewage management.
It was also decided that the Delhi government will develop an Urban River Management Plan for holistic water management, aligned with the city’s master plan, officials said. The need for a Jan Bhagidari movement involving public participation and riverfront events was again emphasised, they added.
Senior government officials presented the current status of Delhi’s wastewater treatment infrastructure to the Prime Minister.
After clearing funds for the infrastructure to clean and rejuvenate the Yamuna on Wednesday, the Delhi chief minister said, “We want to ensure that no untreated wastewater flows into the Yamuna. The rejuvenation of the Yamuna is not merely an environmental goal, but a responsibility to future generations that is being carried out with seriousness and urgency.”
An official from the Union Jal Shakti ministry, who asked not to be named, said a “Yamuna Kosh” or Yamuna Fund will be set up, with a portion of it to be administered by the ministry.
According to a presentation made at Wednesday’s meeting, the measures to restore the river will need to be tailored to its specific characteristics, even if many of the steps mirror those taken under the Ganga cleaning programme.
The Jal Shakti ministry has proposed that interventions such as sewage treatment, dredging, improving dissolved oxygen levels, and restoring “jal pravah” (natural water flow) to support the river’s self-cleaning capacity should be undertaken in a “mission mode,” the official said. “There may be an overarching Yamuna Mission on the pattern of the National Mission for Clean Ganga,” the official added.
The Jal Shakti ministry has been asked to set up “institutional mechanisms” to enable coordination between the Haryana and Delhi governments — crucial, officials said, as several key actions must be implemented upstream of Delhi.
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