New Delhi: In India, politicians offer two things in abundance to their voters before elections: fear and hope. Usually, it starts with hope – but when that fades, fear takes over. “We will clean the Yamuna river” is an example of a hopeful promise that the people of Delhi get to hear before every assembly election.
“Yamuna has been a part of the collective memory of Delhi for a long time but this lifeline is dying,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had warned a decade ago. The only hope: Kejriwal’s ambitious 70-point election manifesto released before the 2015 Delhi elections. They had promised that if Kejriwal becomes the chief minister, his government would do what was required to revive the dying river.
“We would ensure 100 percent collection and treatment of Delhi’s sewage,” the AAP had promised in their manifesto, adding that they’d create “an extensive sewer network and construct new functional sewage treatment plants”. “Yamuna will be cleaned. It can be cleaned. Yamuna is a holy river for us…we will do it in five years,” Kejriwal had said at the launch of the manifesto.
“The discharge of untreated water and industrial effluents into the river Yamuna,” AAP’s manifesto claimed, “will be strictly prohibited.” “In the next few years, especially within the next five years, we would clean it so much that you’d be able to picnic with your family and feel proud of your river,” said Manish Sisodia in 2015, after the AAP was re-elected with a thumping majority. They won 67 out of the 70 seats in the Delhi assembly.
Fast forward to the 2025 assembly polls, and Yamuna is far from being clean – let alone being a picnic spot for families. Instead, it is considered to be one of the most polluted rivers in the world.
A decade since AAP first promised to clean the Yamuna, what has been done? We attempt to take a year-wise look at the promises, accusations and inaction by the AAP government and the Delhi Jal Board.
Year 1: 2015
Kejriwal marked Yamuna’s new hopeful dawn with his widely televised aarti at the Qudsia Ghaat, much along the lines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Namami Gange project. Calling the event a great start, Kejriwal said, “We will clean the Yamuna in the next five years,” boldly adding that the “flow of all the open drains into the river will be closed within one or two years”. The AAP government’s initiative was led by its former water resources minister, Kapil Mishra, who had then told The Times of India, “I want people to come to the river, feel the pain and do something about it.” At the time, Yamuna activists like Manoj Mishra had expressed their reservations about this populist move.
Meanwhile earlier in January, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had delivered a historic order in the Manoj Mishra case to clean the Yamuna. The apex environment court had noted that despite the Union government and the Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi governments spending thousands of crores to restore the Yamuna, its pollution levels have only become worse. The money had literally gone down the drain. The order observed that the “presence of heavy metals increased after Wazirabad (Delhi) even though every drop of water that flows in the river in Delhi has to be cleaned through Sewage Treatment and Effluent Treatment Plants”.
In comparison, it said that the presence of heavy metals was negligible in Haryana. Hazardous carcinogens like hexavalent chromium were found to be in highest concentration at the old Yamuna Bridge and the Indraprastha Estate Power Plant. Poisonous lead in the Yamuna waters, the NGT further observed, harmed children more than adults.
Subsequently, under the Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation project, the NGT ordered the establishment of 32 additional sewage treatment plants and noted that a majority of the 23 existing STPs were not properly functional. But this was AAP’s first year in power as a stable government. The concerns and litigations to free the Yamuna from this pollution were at least two decades old.
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Year 2: 2016
Various media reports pointed out that many of the NGT’s recommendations and rulings from the January 2015 order were not being implemented. India Today quoted Shashi Shekhar, the head of the high-powered panel formed by the NGT to monitor the plan, as saying, “There is almost negligible progress on the ground.”
On August 5, 2016, the NGT passed another order in the Manoj Mishra case noting that no work has been done to implement the 2015 order. “The Delhi Jal Board,” it noted, “is the only authority empowered under law responsible for executing the works of laying down fresh sewer lines, rehabilitation and maintenance of existing sewer lines, establishment of STPs and running such STPs…”
Meanwhile, around the same time in 2016, ex-AAP minister Kapil Mishra continued to share pictures of people taking dips in the Yamuna, suggesting massive strides in the AAP government’s progress to clean the river. In a tweet, he said that nobody (referring to the media) would show this reality. He wrote in Hindi, “They’d go to the frothy Kalindi Kunj area and cover five people.” In May, AAP presented their ambitious turnaround plan to clean the Yamuna in the next 2.5 years.
At the second Yamuna aarti in November, Kejriwal thanked Mishra “for his efforts and mad dedication for the Yamuna aarti”. He claimed that Mishra has prepared a definitive roadmap to clean the Yamuna. “All the promises that I made before the elections, I keep them in my phone and take a look at them every morning when I wake up,” he said.
Year 3: 2017
Over two years had passed, with no progress by the Delhi government in implementing most of the NGT’s directions in the Manoj Mishra case. A bench led by Justice Swatanter Kumar, former chairperson of the NGT, sought a status report from the AAP government and the Delhi Jal Board on the first phase of Yamuna clean up. This phase was supposed to work on the Najafgarh and Delhi gate drains, the carriers of 64% of Delhi’s waste into the Yamuna. A month later, the NGT came down heavily on the Jal Board and the AAP government for non-compliance, issuing show cause notices. The bench questioned the government, asking it to explain why it should not order contempt proceedings. In December, the bench ordered the Delhi Jal Board to make a time-bound action plan for the second phase of the clean up.
In 2017, Mishra had a fallout with AAP, leading to the suspension of his primary membership from the party. From the biggest fan of Kejriwal’s Yamuna policy, Mishra turned into one of his harshest critics.
Year 4: 2018
For his first bilateral visit, Kejriwal went to Seoul to study the example of the Cheonggyecheon rejuvenation by the South Koreans. In December of the same year, Kejriwal gave a green light to projects under the Yamuna Action Plan-III that covered three major drain zones: Kondli, Rithala and Okhla.
Meanwhile, the NGT’s criticism of the Delhi government only became more severe in 2018. “In spite of proceedings in the case in the last three years, there is no meaningful progress at the ground level,” Scroll quoted the bench headed by NGT chairperson A.K. Goel as saying. “It does appear that the present in-charge may not be competent enough to handle the issue.” The bench called it a “failure situation”, adding, “We don’t want useless and incompetent people who have failed us, the people, and the country.”
“The work for the 14 Sewage treatment plants had not even begun for which no justification was given,” the NGT observed. In July 2018, the NGT constituted an independent two-member monitoring committee empowering it to also create a time-bound action plan.
Around this time, the AAP government’s tensions with the Haryana government over release of untreated ammonia-contaminated water also escalated. As allegations against Haryana began to mount, the NGT directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to conduct an ammonia study at four different spots. The CPCB submitted its analysis from Tajewala in Haryana (0.6 mg per litre), and Wazirabad water treatment plant (1.9 mg per litre), Okhla (0.8 mg per litre) and ITO barrage in Delhi (24 mg per litre). Their findings revealed that the ammonia level is significantly higher in Delhi (especially at ITO) than at the Haryana entry point (Hathnikund). However, the problem with ammonia-contaminated water at the source (Haryana) is that it cannot be treated by existing equipment, thereby significantly halting Delhi’s water supply.
Quoting the NGT order, Hindustan Times had reported that “a small 22 km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi, just 2% of its total length, causes 76% of its pollution due to untreated industrial and domestic waste”. Common effluent treatment plants, it added, “operate at only 25% capacity, with 11 of 28 industrial clusters lacking connections”.
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Year 5: 2019
In 2019, Kejriwal inaugurated a mega sewage treatment plant at Okhla. The work on the plant was completed last month, in January 2025, after it missed at least five deadlines. In 2019, the CPCB noted some progress in infrastructure development while maintaining that key issues still needed to be addressed. In November, three months before the assembly elections, Kejriwal said, “We have to clean the Yamuna. I have made a plan for it. In two-three years, you’ll be able to bathe in the Yamuna.”
Meanwhile, in the eyes of the NGT, there was little progress. Since the monitoring committee submitted its first report, the NGT took a tougher stance. The NGT quizzed the Delhi government on its failure to set up any of the 32 STPs, including the 14 that were proposed in the Najafgarh basin.
NGT said on the committee’s report:
“Further, the committee reported that the “faecal coliform count was upto 6,400 times above the prescribed standards. It said that “only 14% of the 1797 colonies had sewage pipelines.” The committee found failure of the Delhi, UP, and Haryana government to implement the directions of the NGT to clean Yamuna…The Delhi Government, UP Government as well as Haryana Government were required to furnish performance guarantee in the sum of Rs. 10 Crores each with the CPCB. The DDA was also required to furnish a performance guarantee in the sum of Rs. 50 Lakhs with the CPCB.”
NGT also observed in its order: “In a city of 20 million if over 7 million inhabitants of unauthorised colonies live without sewerage it will affect the environment of all citizens.” The Delhi Jal Board stated that they will provide free or extremely cheap sewer connections. It is said to be in the works, the NGT noted, but nothing has materialised on the ground. According to the committee’s report, the “entire East Delhi sewer network exists, but only 60% homes are connected to it”.
After several delays and setbacks, the NGT ordered a strict, time-bound timeline for the rejuvenation project. It noted that major directions remain not complied with, with no accountability. The Times of India reported that a senior Delhi Jal Board official had called the deadlines “impractical”. Setting up the sewage treatment plants, he had said, was being delayed due to the unavailability of land.
Year 6: 2020 (election year)
In his campaign, Kejriwal reiterated that if he’s voted back to power, he will clean the Yamuna in the next five years. His party was voted back to power, winning 62 out of the 70 assembly seats.
A CPCB report posted by the PIB said:
“Monitoring of 22 drains carried out recently, indicated that 14 drains… are found untapped, discharging sewage… Due to partially/untreated discharge of sewage and industrial effluent containing phosphorus, foaming also is observed.”
In November, AAP announced a comprehensive plan to clean the Yamuna by 2025. Meanwhile, the NGT questioned the AAP government over the poor performance of its effluent treatment plants. Only three out of the 13 plants fulfilled the standards, meaning that most industrial waste was being released despite being untreated.
Year 7: 2021
Kejriwal expressed regret over delays and reaffirmed his pledge to clean the Yamuna before the next Delhi elections. At the Times Now Media Summit, he said that cleaning the Yamuna was his responsibility and promised that he would not pass the blame on to others.
Quoting a Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) report, the AAP government had informed the assembly that around Rs 6,856.91 crore were spent in the last five years to clean the Yamuna. However, while speaking to a podcaster in 2024, Kejriwal strangely said that no money had been spent and denied having any information about the Rs 6,800 crores.
In 2021, The Hindu had reported citing DPCC reports that much of the Yamuna “remained unfit for bathing”. The faecal coliform level at the point where the river leaves Delhi was up to 500 times its maximum limit, the report noted.
Year 8: 2022
At India Today’s Goa Dialogues, Kejriwal told Rajdeep Sardesai and Preeti Chaudhary that if he’s unable to clean Yamuna in the next five years, Delhi should not vote for him. In the same year, he inaugurated a 50 MLD sewage treatment plant at Rithala.
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Year 9: 2023
In January, the NGT ordered the creation of a high-level committee to be headed by the lieutenant governor, observing that the lack of coordination between the various government departments was a major reason for the delay: “Having multiple authorities in Delhi may be one of the reasons for not achieving success so far. There appears to be lack of ownership and accountability. Huge amount has already been spent without desired results.”
In April, Kejriwal unveiled another five-point action plan to clean the Yamuna.
Ex-Indian Foreign Service officer and Yamuna activist Manoj Mishra died of COVID-19 complications, a decade after his case started.
Economic Times reported quoting DPCC that the pollution load of Yamuna had doubled since 2014. Kejriwal ordered a CAG auditing of the Delhi Jal Board amidst accusations by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Year 10: 2024
Kejriwal spent much of the year in jail. He was released in September. In October 2024, Kejriwal repeated his promise of cleaning the Yamuna with a fresh five-point roadmap. LG V.K. Saxena accused him of stalling the various Yamuna cleaning initiatives and hogging credit.
In November, the Delhi high court made scathing remarks expressing skepticism about the Delhi government’s claims on the progress of Yamuna cleaning. It said that something was drastically wrong with Delhi’s water treatment, dismissing what the bench called the “rosy data” given by the government.
The courts said, “If so many steps are being taken, things should improve. Just see the photographs of Chhath Puja where women were performing puja in the water. See the amount of toxic foam. A woman is mistaking the foam in the water to be a shampoo. We all live in the city. We know exactly what it is.”
“If you think the quality is improving, then good luck to you. You may be the only person who thinks so,” the bench said. Days later, the DPCC reported that 19 out of 37 STPs failed to meet quality checks.
Year 11: 2025
Recently, AAP leader Satyendar Jain told The Quint that the Yamuna will be cleaned in the next two to three years. “I accept that there’s been some delay. However, much of the work that didn’t happen was because of COVID-19” and arrests of top AAP leaders, he said.
In an interview with Indian Today’s Rahul Kanwal, AAP leader Manish Sisodia claimed that 70% of the work for cleaning the Yamuna is complete. Simultaneously, the Delhi high court threatened to pursue contempt proceedings against the Delhi Jal board over STPs releasing effluents into Yamuna, The Indian Express reported.
As the February 5 polls in Delhi inch closer, politics over the Yamuna have already hit the fan. Last month, an NGT committee had found that 83% of the industrial units in Sonipat (Haryana) were releasing poorly treated effluents into Yamuna. AAP has accused BJP-run Haryana of deliberately poisoning the waters of Delhi with ammonia-contaminated water, a charge that the Delhi Jal Board CEO has dismissed. The BJP and Congress, almost in unison, have hit back and said that Kejriwal has failed to clean the Yamuna, and is playing blame games.
What needs to be done?
Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, told The Wire that “Much of the 2015 plan hasn’t been implemented.”
“It’s true that untreated wastewater comes from Haryana and UP. This issue has even reached the courts. Industrial effluents from Haryana have also been found in Delhi’s waters,” he continued. “Still, until Wazirabad, the water remains relatively clean. If Delhi’s STPs (Sewage Treatment Plants) and CETPs (Common Effluent Treatment Plants) for industries functioned properly, Yamuna could improve. But most don’t work, and nobody knows about it. There is little transparency. Last week, the High Court reprimanded them for failing to install flow meters. Deadlines keep getting extended, and news of court orders keeps going viral.”
No particular party can be held solely responsible, Thakkar said, and nor can the Delhi government alone fix the issue – the Union government too has a role to play. “The central government cannot simply wash its hands of the Yamuna. The CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board), Central Water Commission, Ministry of Environment, NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga), and DDA all fall under the central government,” he argued.
“The Delhi government has failed to bring effective change. It has broken multiple promises – such as decentralising STPs, protecting lakes and ponds, and installing bulk water meters. Sewerage connectivity has improved to some extent, but it remains inadequate. The DJB (Delhi Jal Board) is no different from the government in its inefficiency. CETPs [controlled by Delhi government controlled DSIIDC] are in as poor a state as STPs.”
The Yamuna is not alone in its polluted state, he added. “The BJP has also ruled Delhi, but its track record on the Yamuna – or any river in BJP-ruled states – is no better. The Ganga’s condition is equally poor. No river in this country can be considered clean. The problem is not a lack of funds; plenty is spent on infrastructure. The real issues are governance, transparency, and accountability. We need participatory management of STPs.”
In his various media interactions before the polls, Kejriwal has promised to clean the Yamuna again. This time around, though, he told a podcaster that it’s not a political issue and even if nobody votes for cleaning the river, he’ll still do it.
Meanwhile, the Yamuna – or what’s left of it – flows on, its polluted waters a reminder of unkept political promises.
Alishan Jafri is an independent journalist.
