Case Study — Delhi Stretch, Yamuna

Coming Soon

Why this stretch

The Yamuna enters Delhi relatively clean and leaves it catastrophically degraded. In approximately 22 kilometres, the river absorbs the sewage and stormwater of one of the world’s largest urban agglomerations. It is arguably the most studied short river stretch in India — and arguably the most governance-resistant pollution problem in the country.

What this case study will cover

• The arithmetic of the problem: how 22 km produces roughly 80% of the Yamuna’s total pollution load, and what that tells us about concentration of sources
• The drain network: Delhi’s 22 major drains, what they carry, and which ones contribute most to the stretch’s BOD and coliform levels
• Sewage treatment capacity vs. generation: the gap between Delhi’s sewage treatment infrastructure and actual sewage volumes — why the gap persists despite decades of investment
• Seasonal dynamics: how the stretch behaves differently during monsoon, winter, and summer — and why Chhath Puja each year becomes a flashpoint for public attention
• The court and tribunal history: the Supreme Court Yamuna monitoring committee, NGT orders, the Delhi Jal Board’s commitments and defaults — a timeline of accountability attempts
• What clean-up would actually require: an honest, evidence-based assessment of what it would take — technically, institutionally, financially — to restore minimum ecological flow

The 'cleaning the Yamuna' problem

The Delhi Yamuna stretch has been the subject of clean-up promises for over three decades. This case study will examine why the problem has proved so resistant to resolution — not just as a story of failure, but as a structural analysis of what makes urban river restoration uniquely difficult.

Full case study coming soon

This page is a placeholder. The complete case study will include data from CPCB monitoring stations through the Delhi stretch, a drain-by-drain contribution analysis, and a timeline of major interventions from 1993 to present.