Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has launched an unconventional scheme inviting individuals, companies, and institutions to adopt decentralised sewage treatment units across the capital.
The plan marks a critical shift in the city’s approach to environmental governance seeking private sector involvement in one of the country’s most pressing urban water crises. The initiative, branded internally as a national effort, opens the doors for corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions to support the installation of modular sewage treatment plants (STPs) and in-situ waste treatment units directly along the city’s polluted drains. In exchange, the DJB is offering branding opportunities at plant locations and public visibility to contributors, presenting it as an opportunity for firms to engage in high-impact, eco-focused CSR initiatives. While Delhi comprises just 2% of the Yamuna’s length, it contributes an alarming 75% of the river’s pollution load.
A drain merges with the Yamuna every 1.2 km within the city’s jurisdiction most of which carry untreated sewage and toxic industrial effluents. The result is a choking, froth-laden waterway that has long lost its ecological integrity. According to officials, the city’s drainage system initially built for stormwater diversion has collapsed under the weight of unchecked urbanisation and systemic infrastructure failure. “Most of these open drains now function as open sewers, funnelling raw sewage and chemical effluents directly into the river,” a senior DJB official explained. To address this, the DJB’s adoption plan invites four types of participation: funding of modular STPs, installation of plug-and-play treatment systems, deployment of in-situ remediation technologies, and sponsorship of alternative eco-friendly water treatment innovations. While site identification and permissions will be handled by the DJB, private sponsors will directly purchase the equipment from certified vendors meeting pollution control standards. Post-installation, DJB will assume operational and maintenance responsibilities.
Key drains identified for the initiative include the Najafgarh, Barapullah, and Shahdara—among the worst offenders in terms of pollutant load, as flagged by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s latest environmental audit. Unlike centralised STPs that require years of planning and heavy capital infusion, these decentralised interventions aim to clean wastewater at source. By intercepting waste before it reaches the river, officials believe this model offers a quicker, cost-effective response to Delhi’s water pollution crisis. Experts within the urban planning and water management domain view the approach as a blend of necessity and innovation—particularly in a scenario where public funds are stretched thin, and large-scale projects are often bogged down by red tape or budget shortfalls. By mobilising CSR funds, DJB seeks to bridge this financing gap and implement practical, ground-level solutions without delay.
However, the proposal has not been free from scrutiny. Environmental experts and citizen advocates have cautioned against the complete outsourcing of public responsibilities to private entities. They argue that while decentralised systems are essential for immediate containment, they must not be used as a substitute for the development of robust, city-wide sewerage networks and long-term policy enforcement. An environmentalist associated with community-based water restoration projects highlighted that many of DJB’s existing 37 STPs underperform, with nearly half failing to meet the Central Pollution Control Board’s discharge criteria. “We are pumping partially treated or even raw sewage into the river. Before adding more infrastructure, there is an urgent need to upgrade existing facilities and connect unsewered colonies to the main network,” the expert said.
This mixed performance history of past clean-up efforts like the Yamuna Action Plan—has fostered public scepticism over whether such campaigns can deliver real results or will merely become another exercise in bureaucratic tokenism. Nonetheless, with the river’s condition deteriorating by the day and visible foam and odour plaguing the city’s key stretches, there is consensus that immediate action is imperative. From an economic perspective, the scheme offers a chance to align corporate sustainability goals with pressing urban challenges. As more companies commit to ESG (environmental, social and governance) frameworks, CSR spending on water and waste infrastructure can deliver tangible, trackable impact—especially when tied to India’s broader climate and SDG commitments.
Urban development planners suggest that similar models have shown promise in other global cities, where decentralised wastewater management has supplemented large municipal systems. When well-designed and transparently governed, such initiatives can reduce operational costs, improve water quality metrics, and foster community engagement in environmental stewardship. The DJB has indicated that it will maintain regulatory oversight and ensure standardised treatment benchmarks are met across all adopted plants. “We are not passing off responsibility. The aim is to invite civic participation in a legally sound and environmentally appropriate manner,” a senior official clarified.
As Delhi stares at mounting environmental costs and dwindling public patience, the Jal Board’s adoption plan may offer a short-term bridge toward longer-term sustainability.
Whether it succeeds or not will ultimately depend on how transparently it is executed, how well existing infrastructure is strengthened, and how seriously the government pursues its own mandate. In a city where drains have become symbols of urban neglect, transforming them into sites of collaborative renewal may well be the disruption the Yamuna needs. The promise of clean water, however, must not rest solely on goodwill and branding it must be backed by institutional commitment and systemic reform.
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