Amit Shah vows to clean Yamuna by May 2029, unveils water and sewerage projects worth ₹8,941 crore

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 43 water and sewerage projects worth ₹8,941.22 crore, aimed at cleaning the Yamuna and improving drinking water supply in Delhi. 

He inaugurated 10 projects worth ₹2,827.11 crore and laid foundation stones for 33 others worth ₹6,114.11 crore. 

“Before May 2029, we will purify the Yamuna and come before you. This is our resolve,” Mr. Shah said at an event in Shyam Vihar attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Lieutenant-Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu. 

Focus on sewage treatment 

Ms. Gupta said the government is adopting a scientific approach to restoring the river by intercepting drains, upgrading and constructing sewage treatment plants (STPs), laying sewer lines and connecting them to STPs. 

“The goal is to connect every household to the sewer network and every sewer line to an STP to prevent untreated wastewater from entering the Yamuna,” she said. 

Among the inaugurated projects are a 477-million-litre-per-day water treatment plant at Chandrawal, a two-million-gallon-per-day (MGD) water recycling plant at Bawana and a 124 MGD STP at Okhla. STPs at Rithala and Kondli have also been upgraded, the Chief Minister’s Office stated. 

Attack on Opposition

He accused previous Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governments of allowing sewage to flow into the Yamuna over 30 years and claimed that 2,000 tonnes of cow dung from dairies were dumped into the river every day. 

With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in power at the Centre and in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, the governments have prepared time-bound road maps to clean the river by 2029, he said. He claimed that the government had achieved “more than 40% success” since Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a meeting following the formation of the BJP government in Delhi. 

Accusing the Congress and AAP of making excuses for failing to tackle pollution, Mr. Shah attacked former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Kejriwal ji, I have answers to all your questions. I will give them when we remove AAP from power in Punjab too,” he said. 

“You did nothing except seize power in the name of protests and indulge in rampant corruption,” he alleged. Mr. Shah said the BJP government has reduced the height of Delhi’s landfill sites and claimed that gardens would be developed there within two years. 

Cleaning the Yamuna was a key promise made by Mr. Modi ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly election, which returned the BJP to power after 27 years. He began his victory speech on February 8, 2025, with “Yamuna Maiya ki Jai”. 

The river holds religious significance for Purvanchalis from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who form a significant voter base in Delhi. Many observe Chhath Puja by taking a holy dip in the river.