There are many things those with a sense of civic duty can adopt — a dog, a cat, even a monument or a village if they have the means. Now, the cash-strapped Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is offering an unconventional addition to that list: a sewage treatment plant.
In a first-of-its-kind initiative, DJB is inviting individuals, private firms, and corporations to “adopt” wastewater treatment plants along Delhi’s drains. The plan is part of a broader effort to raise funds for the cleaning of the Yamuna—a key election promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led city government. The administration has set a target of 2028 to restore the ecological health of the Yamuna.
DJB’s adoption programme, which officials are pitching as a “national endeavour”, seeks to tap into private capital for a task that the city has failed to execute for decades.
To meet that goal, DJB is seeking corporate sponsorship through CSR (corporate social responsibility) contributions. In return, the water utility is offering donors “branding opportunities” and “public recognition” through prominent signage at the site of the plants.
A government-backed project with measurable impact and high visibility, DJB says, should appeal to companies looking to invest in environmentally meaningful CSR projects.
To be sure, Delhi’s drains constitute the single biggest threat to the Yamuna. Though the river flows through the city for only about 2% of its total stretch, Delhi contributes roughly 75% of its total pollution load. A major drain joins the Yamuna every 1.2 km on average within city limits. Many of these carry untreated sewage and industrial effluents, turning a relatively clean river into an anoxic, foam-choked stream with zero dissolved oxygen by the time it exits the city.
“These drains were originally meant to carry stormwater and protect the city from flooding,” said a senior DJB official, requesting anonymity.
But that system has collapsed. Most of these drains now carry an uninterrupted flow of raw sewage, aided by broken infrastructure and unchecked waste discharge from unregulated colonies and industries.
“Over the years, however, they’ve become open sewers, carrying raw sewage and chemical waste into the Yamuna. Our modular treatment plants are meant to address that at the source,” the official said.
According to DJB’s proposal, the agency is inviting sponsorship in four broad areas — installation of modular sewage treatment plants (STPs), deployment of plug-and-play STP units, adoption of in-situ sewage treatment technologies, or support for innovative eco-friendly treatment methods. “We’ll take care of identifying sites and securing permissions. Once installed, DJB will take over operations and maintenance,” the official said.
Under the scheme, private firms or individuals will pay the equipment suppliers directly, choosing vendors whose products meet the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) standards. DJB’s role will be to supervise the installation, assist in technical approvals, and oversee long-term operations.
The utility has already identified a list of drains for the project, several of which — including the Najafgarh, Shahdara and Barapullah drains — contribute the most pollutant load to the Yamuna, according to the latest Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) report.
“The plants will be installed directly on open drains,” the DJB official cited above said. “The goal is to treat wastewater before it enters the river, without waiting for massive centralised infrastructure.”
It’s an approach that seeks to blend necessity with opportunity. The government saves on capital expenditure, while companies meet their CSR targets.
These interventions are meant to complement the larger Yamuna Action Plan, which includes building and expanding centralised sewage treatment plants, connecting unsewered colonies, and de-silting drains. But with many of those projects facing delays or budgetary constraints, DJB hopes smaller, decentralised solutions will fill the gap.
Still, challenges remain. DJB has faced criticism in the past for delays in STP commissioning, poor maintenance, and lack of transparency. Moreover, environmentalists warn that while decentralised treatment plants are welcome, they cannot replace the need for robust sewerage networks and long-term pollution control policies
Diwan Singh, an environmental activist, said the responsibility of cleaning the Yamuna rests with the government and DJB, which should not try to pass the buck to private entities or CSR efforts.
“It is for the government to decide, what strategy they want to adopt to raise funds but they should take the final responsibility. The private parties can be roped in a manner that is legally acceptable and ecologically sustainable,” he said .
Singh said that DJB can run privately set up DSTPs but the priority should be improving the functioning of its existing 37 STPs half of which don’t even meet CPCB criterion. “Our existing STPs are pumping out polluted water. Priority should be upgrade them along with covering the remaining colonies not covered by sewage network,” Singh added.
Yet there’s little doubt about the scale or urgency of the problem. The Yamuna today is a river only in name. Its Delhi stretch resembles a sluggish, black channel choked with foam and stench—far removed from the lifeline it once was.
DJB’s proposal to “adopt a drain” may sound unconventional. But perhaps unconventional may be what the river needs.