A barrage of compromises fail the Yamuna

For a generation of young people who have grown up in Delhi, the Yamuna has been a river only in name. What was once the lifeline of Delhi now drags through the city as a toxic stream – its banks lined with industrial and domestic waste, its surface foaming with chemical froth. Successive governments, run by different parties, have all pitched grand schemes to revive the river; courts have issued rebukes; and thousands of crores have been poured into clean-up projects. Yet, the river remains on life support.

Today, Delhi stands at a moment that could change the river’s fate — for better or for worse.

Rejuvenation of the river is back in the spotlight following the recent Delhi assembly elections. Its winner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has made a string of promises to revive the river.

At the same time, a 1994 water-sharing agreement that determines the Yamuna’s flow is up for renegotiation. The outcome of this long-overdue revision could either restore the river’s environmental flow or doom it to lifelessness for another generation.

But there is one factor that makes this iteration of the negotiations different. For the first time in decades, the BJP holds power in five of the six Yamuna basin states, a rare alignment that offers a unique opportunity to push for a greater share of water for Delhi.

The backbone in this high-stakes renegotiation is Delhi’s demand for more water — specifically, an increase in the amount released from upstream states. If the city’s demands are met, the Yamuna could see fresh water coursing through its parched veins. If not, the future will remain as bleak as its polluted waters.

Experts argue that the minimum of 10 cumecs (190 million gallons per day) currently allocated to Delhi is grossly insufficient, leaving the river dry and unable to flush out pollutants. Studies, including those by the National Institute of Hydrology, have pointed to a figure of 23 cumecs (437 MGD).

Doubling the flow of the river in Delhi, experts said, will transform Delhi’s experience with the river. Such a massive increase in water will dilute toxins in the river and give it hope to sustain at least some aquatic life.

But such a shift would not come without resistance. Other states in the basin — particularly the agrarian dependant states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — rely on the same water, and increasing Delhi’s share would mean reducing theirs.

To be sure, such a plan would also be contingent to the formation of three major dams — Lakhwar, Renuka and Kishau. According to a proposal submitted by Delhi to PMO, the Renuka project plans to add around 13 cumecs water to the drinking water share of Delhi once it becomes operational by 2030. This dam is being constructed as a storage project on Giri river in Himachal Pradesh, an agreement for which was signed by Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan on January 11, 2019. The other two — Lakhwar dam in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun district; and Kishahu dam on the Uttarakhand-Himachal border — are in pipeline but they are expected to take much longer.

At the heart of this battle is a simple truth: rivers cannot be revived without water. Environmentalists have long criticised previous clean-up efforts for focusing on surface-level beautification — building ghats, and setting up fountains — while ignoring the most fundamental requirement for a river’s health: flow. Without fresh water replenishing it, the Yamuna in Delhi is little more than a holding tank for untreated sewage.

Delhi’s case for an increase in share is backed by scientific studies and parliamentary reports, the latest of which was tabled in both houses on March 11.

It described the Delhi stretch of the Yamuna as “dead”, and deemed the present e-flow of 10 cumecs “inadequate”. The reality is perhaps worse — officials say that even this limited allocation does not consistently reach Delhi. The water released from Haryana’s Hathnikund Barrage often dries up before it gets to Wazirabad, effectively leaving the city’s stretch of the Yamuna with “nil” flow for nine months a year, according to the parliamentary report.

The upcoming renegotiation presents an opportunity not just to fix this imbalance but to settle long-standing disputes over interstate water sharing.

“The same party governing five Yamuna basin states and the Centre is a golden opportunity for the BJP to keep Yamuna revival objectives at the forefront and initiate joint actions for reversing the degradation river has been undergoing for past many years,” said Yamuna activist Bhim Singh Rawat.

Rawat, a member of member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), said the 1994 deal was particularly detrimental to Delhi.

He argues that the agreement’s terms locked Delhi into a meagre allocation, contingent on the construction of the three aforementioned dams, all of which are yet to materialise even three decades later. Meanwhile, Delhi’s water crisis has deepened, with the city’s population nearly doubling since the agreement was signed.

The Yamuna’s journey begins near Banderpooch peaks at the Yamunotri glacier, 6,387 metres above sea level. It travels 1,376 kilometres before merging with the Ganga at Prayagraj. Along the way, it is controlled by a series of barrages that divert water into canals.

By the time it reaches Delhi, particularly in the peak summer months, only around 10% of its original volume remains.

In the plains, the river is further fragmented by three barrages, each controlled by a different government. What little water does make it through to Delhi is overwhelmed by pollution — industrial effluents, sewage, and untreated waste.

One of the main points of contention on the river is the Hathinikund barrage in Haryana, which acts the primary regulation point for release of Yamuna water for Delhi. But it has been the grounds for frequent disputes between the two states in recent years. The most recent being in January this year, when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal accused Haryana of “poisoning” Delhi’s Yamuna water. Subsequently, Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini even drank the Yamuna water at Palla in north Delhi.

Official estimates indicate that for most of the year, the Yamuna’s flow downstream of Wazirabad Barrage is close to zero. The little water present during non-monsoon months is almost entirely sewage. Experts said this is the primary reason for the thick froth and foul stench that have become synonymous with the Yamuna in Delhi.

A makeshift solution, according to a study by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), is that an e-flow of 23 cumecs would reduce the river’s Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) from 25 mg/l to 12 mg/l. While still far from the ideal 3 mg/l needed to support aquatic life, it would mark a significant improvement.

Experts said that any increase in share for Delhi is likely to impact the share of Haryana and other upper-Yamuna states. Rawat, however, stressed that if all states work together, the impact can be minimal on others. “While it will marginally reduce the water these upper states get, if they all contribute a small share, it will ensure the Delhi’s section is much cleaner,” he said.

Haryana government officials say that they cannot comment on Delhi’s proposal till it is discussed with the state government.

A lack of environmental flow has left the river stagnant, making pollution levels worse.

The 1994 agreement, between the chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh (Uttarakhand was yet to be carved out of UP), led to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on May 12, 1994. Clause 7(3) of agreement stated that allocation of available flows among the states will be regulated by a board – leading to the creation of the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB), tasked with overseeing water allocation and maintaining the river’s ecology.

However, the board’s effectiveness has been repeatedly questioned.

UYRB’s mission statement argues that it aims at “optimal utilisation” of waters of Yamuna up to Okhla, maintaining the ecology of the river and supply of water to the basin state.

Delhi officials argue that UYRB has failed to mediate disputes effectively, often leaving states to settle conflicts in court. HT earlier reported that board has met fewer than twice a year over the last three decades, and its chief ministers’ committee — meant to be a high-level decision-making body — has convened only seven times. More worryingly, the Hathnikund Barrage does not even have flow meters installed, making enforcement of allocations nearly impossible.

UYRB’s problems extend to manpower. Of the 58 permanent posts originally sanctioned for the board, only 22 remain. Of those, 17 have been “deemed abolished,” leaving it severely understaffed. Experts say that unless the board is empowered and actively enforces allocations, any renegotiation of the agreement will be meaningless.

“Despite multiple committees recommending an increased e-flow, this was never implemented,” says Bhim Singh Rawat, a member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. “Now, the onus is once again on the UYRB to acknowledge the fallacy in the 1994 agreement and generate consensus among basin states to allow the river the share of water that was long overdue.”

As negotiations loom, the fate of the Yamuna is in the spotlight again.

Last year, Delhi’s then water minister Atishi (who later became chief minister) stated that the city’s annual water crisis could only be solved through a renegotiated agreement. The demand is not just about drinking water — it is about giving the Yamuna a fighting chance at survival.

Experts say that while increased flow alone will not be a silver bullet — Delhi’s unchecked sewage dumping remains a major issue — it is an essential first step. Without fresh water, even the most advanced sewage treatment plants will be of little consequence.

“Although we know an increased e-flow of 23 cumecs will not solve everything as you still have drains bringing large quantities of sewage into the river, this will be a start. If the flow is maintained at such a level, even during the lean period, basic ecological functions will start taking place and the river will be able to clean itself to some extent naturally. This will solve two major problems – froth and the foul smell associated with the Yamuna in Delhi,” said Pankaj Kumar, a Yamuna activist, also known as “Earth Warrior” on X.

An increased flow translates to higher dissolved oxygen (DO), thus helping aquatic life in the river too. “This is a start, which eventually needs to translate to upgraded sewage treatment plants and drains that are no longer dumping sewage into the river,” he said.

For Delhi, the next few months will be crucial. The battle for Yamuna’s future is not just about numbers in an agreement — it is about whether the city will continue to live with a dead river at its heart, or finally take the steps to bring it back to life.