Only 13 of 33 water quality monitoring stations on Yamuna meet bathing standards: Centre

New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) Only 13 of the 33 water quality monitoring stations on the Yamuna river across five states currently meet the required bathing standards, the government said on Monday.

Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said the discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage remains a key reason for the river's deteriorating health in Delhi, with a treatment gap of 645.55 million litres per day (MLD) as of June 2025, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

The absence of common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) in some industrial areas, along with delays in completing new and upgraded sewage projects, further compounds the problem, the minister said in a written response.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, is funding efforts in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to reduce pollution levels and rejuvenate the Yamuna under the Namami Gange programme.

So far, the NMCG has sanctioned 35 projects at a total cost of Rs 6,534 crore to create 2,243 MLD of sewage treatment capacity, and 21 of these projects have been completed, according to official data.

In Delhi alone, nine major sewage infrastructure projects with a combined treatment capacity of over 1,260 MLD have been completed.

In Uttar Pradesh, cities such as Mathura, Agra, Firozabad, Muzaffarnagar and Vrindavan have seen extensive work in interception, diversion and treatment infrastructure.

Of the 23 projects sanctioned in the state, 11 have been completed while the rest are under progress or in the tendering stage, the minister said.

Projects in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have also reached completion, including new sewage treatment plants in Panipat and Sonipat and a sewerage scheme in Paonta Sahib. PTI UZM RT RT