Sahibabad Drain Remains Major Contributor To Yamuna Pollution
Sahibabad drain, heavily polluted with industrial and domestic waste, remains a major contributor to Yamuna pollution despite NGT orders and government claims.
Published : July 28, 2025 at 4:49 PM IST
New Delhi: Despite the tall claims of the Delhi government on making plans worth crores to clean Yamuna River, the picture on the ground remains dismal.
One of the reasons for this remains the flouting of National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders regarding the Sahibabad drain which is a major contributor to the pollution of the river. This drain starts from Ghaziabad's Loni and passes through Tila Mod, Pasunda, Shalimar Garden, Shahid Nagar, Ramprastha Green, Sahibabad Industrial Area Site-4, Vaishali and Ghazipur before falling into the Yamuna through Shahdara Drain. The waste from many densely populated areas of Delhi and Ghaziabad along with about 1700 factories is reaching the Yamuna through this drain.
This drain not only pollutes the river but has contaminated the groundwater as well as along with domestic sewage, industrial waste of hundreds of factories of Sahibabad Site-4 also reaches this polluted drain. According to environmentalists, the use of this water in any form is extremely dangerous for human health.
Social activist Sushil Raghav had filed a petition in the Supreme Court and the NGT regarding this serious problem. The latter had given strict instructions that encroachments be removed from the banks of the drain and it should be cleaned besides making it pollution free. But these orders had no impact on the ground level. Till now, no concrete measures have been taken to stop the waste of factories from finding its way to the Yamuna. Neither has any system been put in place to treat the water in the drain.
The recent report of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has confirmed that out of the 27 major drains that fall into Yamuna, the Sahibabad drain is the most polluted.
According to the report, the levels of BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) and COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) in this drain have been found to be many times higher than the prescribed ones. This is not only dangerous for aquatic life but is also a matter of concern for human health.
The BOD level for this drain was 220 mg/l (milligrams per litre) and COD was 536 mg/l whereas the ideal level should be 30 mg/l and 250mg/l respectively.
Raghav has demanded that the government should take immediate effective steps in this direction. He said, “Pre treatment system for industrial waste falling into Sahibabad drain, regular monitoring of factories and separate pipeline system for domestic sewage is necessary. Otherwise this drain will become a serious threat not only for Yamuna but also for human life in the coming times.”
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