Involve people, focus on what ails Yamuna

Why in the News

Investment in sewage treatment has not yet delivered a cleaner Yamuna in Delhi. Thousands of dead fish surfaced near Burari, upstream of the Wazirabad barrage, on a stretch generally considered cleaner than most of the river’s Delhi course. The deaths came as the Delhi government’s “Chalo Yamuna” clean-up drive got under way, and point to a problem of water, effluent and sewage that crosses State lines.

What killed the fish, and what does it reveal?

1. What it is: A fish kill is the sudden death of many fish at once, usually when the water stops supporting life. It is like a crowded, sealed room running out of air.
2. Dissolved oxygen: Dissolved oxygen is the oxygen held in water that fish breathe. Sewage and effluents use it up as they decompose, so levels fall and fish suffocate.
3. Suspected causes: Experts have not conclusively established the cause. They point to possible industrial effluents, low dissolved oxygen and inadequate environmental flows.
4. The takeaway: If even one of the river’s cleaner stretches cannot sustain fish, the scale of the Yamuna challenge is chronic, not a one-off spill.

What are environmental flows?

1. Meaning: Environmental flows are the quantity, timing and quality of water a river must carry to keep its ecosystem healthy.
2. Dilution role: The Yamuna needs adequate clean water flows to dilute residual pollutants, the share that treatment plants and drains still leave in the river.
3. What reduces them: Barrages upstream divert water into canals for irrigation and drinking, leaving a thin flow in dry months. Eg. The Hathnikund barrage in Haryana.

Why have Delhi’s clean-up efforts fallen short?

1. Chalo Yamuna drive: The Chief Minister and other leaders joined volunteers to clear waste from 70 ghats, the steps leading down to the river. They asked residents to stop throwing plastic, broken idols and religious offerings into the river.
2. Public involvement: Involving the public in restoring the river is welcome, but it does not address the river’s chronic problems.
3. Untreated sewage: Since taking office last year, the government has announced investment in sewage treatment and drainage. By conservative estimates, close to 200 million litres of sewage still flow untreated into the river every day.
4. Failing treatment plants: At least seven sewage treatment plants (STPs) failed to meet prescribed water-quality standards, the limits on pollution in the water they release, in September, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) reported.
5. Interceptor drains: The interceptor drain project is meant to catch sewage from slum cluster drains before it reaches the larger drains feeding the Yamuna. Fragmented responsibilities among agencies have held it back.

Why can Delhi not clean the Yamuna on its own?

1. Limits of a sewage-centred plan: An approach centred on sewage treatment will not cleanse the river, which also needs enough water of its own.
2. Pollution from neighbours: Drains carrying urban sewage and industrial effluents from neighbouring areas can undermine Delhi’s efforts.
3. Limits of Delhi’s regulators: Because pollution enters from outside, the Capital’s pollution control authorities cannot clean the river in isolation.
4. One problem, three parts: Environmental flows, industrial discharge and sewage treatment need to be tackled as parts of the same problem, not as separate projects.

Challenges

1. Spending without results: River rejuvenation projects repeatedly see investment not translating into results on the ground. Eg. The Yamuna Action Plan, running since 1993.
2. Split responsibilities: Several Delhi agencies share sewage plants, drains and the floodplain, so no single body answers for the river’s condition.
3. Weak enforcement on industry: Industrial units discharge effluent into drains that reach the river, and penalties rarely stop them.
4. No basin-wide accountability: The States sharing the river have no common pollution targets or shared data.

Way Forward

1. Basin compact: The Centre should bring Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh together to set common pollution targets for the river.
2. Shared data and accountability: The three governments should share water-quality and discharge data and fix clear lines of accountability.
3. Assured flows: The basin States should agree on minimum flows released into the river through the year.
4. Fix the plants: Delhi should bring every failing STP up to standard and place the interceptor drain project under one agency.
5. Participation plus enforcement: Match public participation with sustained investment, scientific oversight and diligent enforcement.

Conclusion

The Yamuna’s crisis is a basin problem of water, effluent and sewage that a Delhi clean-up drive cannot solve alone. Whether the Centre gets the States sharing the river to accept common targets and shared accountability will decide if the river recovers.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2018] Which of the following is/are the possible consequence/s of heavy sand mining in riverbeds ? 1.Decreased salinity in the river 2.Pollution of groundwater 3.Lowering of the water-table Select the correct answer using the code given below : (a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 ANSWER: (b)”