New Delhi, Nov 14 More than 1,000 million gallons per day (MGD) of wastewater flows through Delhi’s Najafgarh and Shahdara drains, carrying nearly 295 MGD of untreated sewage discharged into the streams from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, respectively, according to official records.
The combined flow in the two drains is estimated at 1,022.82 MGD, with the Najafgarh drain carrying 862 MGD and the Shahdara drain 160.82 MGD, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC) August 2026 monthly report.
The report, submitted to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti in connection with a National Green Tribunal (NGT) hearing concerning polluted river stretches, and the responses to three RTI applications by environmental activist Amit Gupta have been accessed by PTI.
Gupta had filed the RTI applications seeking information on the drains, their management and action taken against polluters.
Gupta claimed that the DPCC did not provide the flow details he sought in the RTI applications and referred him to other government agencies.
In response to a query on the Najafgarh drain, the committee’s Water Management Cell-II referred him to the Delhi government’s irrigation and flood control department for information on the drain’s flow. For details concerning the interception of smaller drains, he was referred to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
The cell also stated that it did not have compiled records of notices, closure directions or environmental compensation imposed on Najafgarh drain polluters during the past 24 months, according to the RTI response.
Gupta said the responses pointed to a lack of centralised data and a pattern of shifting responsibility among departments in matters concerning the drains.
“Across all three applications, a clear bureaucratic framework emerges where the apex environmental enforcement authority operates in siloed ignorance of the physical states of the drains,” Gupta said.
He said the RTI responses and the DPCC report clearly show that much of the untreated sewerage, industrial effluents and other pollutants flow into the Yamuna without any check. “How can we expect the Yamuna to be cleaned without addressing these points? Unless we fix accountability, nothing will change,” Gupta asserted.
The DPCC report, prepared on the basis of inputs received from concerned agencies, attributes the Najafgarh drain’s flow figure to the DJB and the Shahdara drain’s figure to Water and Power Consultancy Services Limited (WAPCOS).
It identifies 220 MGD of untreated discharge entering the Najafgarh drain from Haryana through the Dhansa regulator and the Badshahpur, Dharampur and Palam Vihar drains. Of the drain’s total flow of 862 MGD, 452 MGD comprises treated effluent from sewage treatment plants (STPs).
In the case of the Shahdara drain, 74.24 MGD of untreated sewage is discharged from Uttar Pradesh through the Sahibabad, Indirapuri, Karawal Nagar and Banthala drains, the report says.
The combined untreated discharge into the two drains is estimated at 294.24 MGD.
The report also identifies several sub-drains that remain untapped or partially tapped in the catchment areas of both drains. It states that the DPCC and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have been jointly monitoring the Najafgarh, Shahdara and other drains at 52 locations every month since May 2025.
The RTI responses revealed that the DPCC has imposed Rs 5.32 crore in penalties on common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) over three financial years, from 2023-24 to 2025-26. The amount rose from Rs 5 lakh in 2024-25 to Rs 4.42 crore in 2025-26.
CETPs treat wastewater discharged by industrial units before it is released into drains or other water bodies.
Another Rs 22.95 crore has been imposed through 17 orders against STPs and the DJB between February 2025 and May 2026. These include a penalty of Rs 18.54 crore on the DJB in February 2025 for failing to provide a sewerage network, Rs 2.89 crore against 15 STPs in April 2026 and Rs 1.50 crore against the DJB in May 2026.
The combined penalties imposed on CETPs, STPs and the DJB amount to around Rs 28.27 crore. The figures represent penalties imposed and do not necessarily indicate amounts recovered.
The RTI responses also provided details of five STPs serving the Shahdara drain basin. Their combined treatment capacity is 99 MGD, while the actual volume treated in August 2026 is around 101 MGD, according to DJB records.
The DPCC’s progress report says Delhi generates around 800 MGD of sewage daily and treats 742.32 MGD, leaving a treatment gap of 57.68 MGD. It listed 25 operational STPs as complying with DPCC standards and 10 as non-compliant.
The DPCC’s accounts branch also stated in an RTI response that no funds have been specifically allocated to the committee by the Delhi government for Yamuna cleaning during the financial years 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.
Gupta also questioned the effectiveness of imposing penalties without ensuring that treatment plants function properly. “Merely imposing fines on paper will not revive the Yamuna unless these treatment plants are fixed on the ground and held strictly accountable.
(PTI News)
