Yamuna clean-up: Jal Board puts up waste treatment plants for adoption

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.

- Paras Singh

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.