Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Yamuna would be cleaned by 2029, setting a timeline for restoring the heavily polluted river as the Centre and the Delhi government step up work on sewage treatment, waste management and other measures. Shah said efforts to clean the river had gathered momentum following the change of government in Delhi and asserted that the results would become visible over the coming years.
Speaking at an event, Shah said the government was committed to cleaning the Yamuna and restoring the river, which has remained one of Delhi’s most persistent environmental challenges despite multiple programmes and substantial expenditure over the years. Untreated sewage entering through drains remains the principal source of pollution in the Delhi stretch, while industrial discharge, solid waste and inadequate treatment infrastructure have compounded the problem.
2029 target set
Shah said the Yamuna would be cleaned by 2029 as work progresses on multiple fronts. The announcement puts a specific deadline on the river-cleaning effort at a time when the Delhi government has made Yamuna rejuvenation one of its key priorities.
The programme involves preventing untreated wastewater from entering the river, improving sewage treatment capacity and addressing drains that carry pollutants into the Yamuna. Authorities have also been working on upgrading sewage treatment plants and expanding sewerage networks so that wastewater currently escaping treatment can be intercepted before reaching the river.
Sewage remains challenge
The Delhi stretch of the Yamuna represents only a small portion of the river’s overall length but bears a disproportionately high pollution burden. Major drains carrying sewage from densely populated parts of the Capital discharge into the river, severely affecting water quality, particularly during periods of low natural flow.
Cleaning the Yamuna therefore depends not simply on removing visible waste or undertaking periodic surface-cleaning exercises but on reducing the continuous inflow of untreated sewage. Expanding sewer connections in unsewered areas and ensuring treatment plants operate effectively will be crucial if the government is to meet the 2029 deadline.
Delhi steps up work
The Delhi government has intensified measures since taking office, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta repeatedly identifying the river’s restoration as a major objective of her administration. The Centre’s involvement is also important because cleaning the Yamuna requires coordination among multiple agencies and governments along the river basin rather than action by Delhi alone.
The task has repeatedly challenged successive governments. Several plans have been launched over the decades and thousands of crores of rupees spent on treatment plants, sewerage infrastructure and pollution-control projects, yet the river continues to suffer from severe contamination through the Capital.
Shah’s 2029 commitment consequently provides a measurable deadline against which the latest effort will eventually be judged. Meeting it will require sustained execution rather than another short-term clean-up campaign, particularly on sewage interception, treatment capacity and enforcement against polluters. For Delhi, where the Yamuna has become synonymous with polluted water and toxic froth, the real test will be whether the promised revival produces a lasting improvement in the river itself.