Delhi Minister Parvesh Singh Sahib Verma on Thursday admitted that the Yamuna cannot be cleaned in the immediate future, saying the government has no plan to fully restore the river within the next one
or two years and has now set 2029 as the target for a complete cleanup.
Speaking on the issue, Verma said the Yamuna would only be clean once untreated sewage and polluted streams flowing into the river are stopped. “We have no plan for one year or two years. We will clean the Yamuna by 2029. This is our commitment to the people of Delhi,” he said.
“We will not allow any of Delhi’s pollution to flow into the Yamuna. This is our promise to the people of Delhi,” the Water Minister further added.
The remarks mark a noticeable shift in tone from the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, when the condition of the Yamuna had emerged as a major political talking point. During the campaign, parties repeatedly sparred over responsibility for the river’s pollution, with river rejuvenation projected as a key governance priority.
At the time, BJP leaders, including Parvesh Verma, had highlighted public frustration over the state of the Yamuna and cited missed deadlines by the previous government, particularly during high-visibility moments such as Chhath festivities. The issue became a focal point of the polls, with competing claims and promises around cleaning the river forming a central part of the campaign.
The Delhi government is now facing mounting scrutiny over pollution more broadly, even as it rolls out fresh measures aimed at improving the Yamuna’s condition. The government has approved the deployment of 32 high-capacity, modern cleaning machines, including two multipurpose dredgers sourced from Finland, to tackle pollution in major drains flowing into the river earlier this week.
According to an official statement, all machines are expected to become operational by March, with the cleaning drive set to begin from the Najafgarh drain, the largest contributor of pollution to the Yamuna. The initiative will start in January and expand in phases to other drains and selected stretches of the river.
The stated objective of the programme is to prevent untreated sludge, silt and solid waste from entering the Yamuna through intensified mechanised cleaning. The new equipment is designed for deep desilting, sludge extraction, weed removal and access to waterlogged or hard-to-reach areas that have so far remained beyond the reach of conventional cleaning methods.
