New Delhi, July 29: The Central government has directed Uttar Pradesh to prepare a time bound roadmap and complete all sewage treatment and pollution control projects on drains feeding into the Yamuna by January 2028 as part of the Yamuna rejuvenation programme.
According to an official status report reviewed by the Union Home Minister last month, Ghaziabad and Loni have been identified as key focus areas because polluted drains from these regions significantly contribute to the contamination of the Yamuna in Delhi.
While no drain from Uttar Pradesh flows directly into the Yamuna five drains from Ghaziabad and Loni discharge into Delhi Shahdara drain, accounting for around 40–45 per cent of its total flow. A joint survey found that these drains receive wastewater from 286 secondary drains, releasing about 205 million litres per day (MLD), with the Sahibabad drain alone contributing 101 MLD.
To address the issue, a 68 MLD sewage treatment plant is being constructed for the Sahibabad drain under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 546.94 crore. Authorities have also intensified action against polluting industries with a task force shutting down 244 unauthorised industrial units in Ghaziabad over the past four months.
The report also noted Uttar Pradesh concern that it is not receiving its full sanctioned share of Yamuna water from the Hathnikund Barrage.
Officials said similar directions have been issued to Delhi and Haryana, with the Union Home Minister and Union Home Secretary conducting virtual review meetings with the chief secretaries of the concerned states almost every fortnight to monitor progress on the river rejuvenation.