Yamuna e-flow is set to rise under a fresh plan from New Delhi. The Jal Shakti Ministry has directed Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to divert water from two canals into the river. The decision came at a rejuvenation meeting held in January 2026, according to officials cited by PTI.
Two separate projects are on the table. One plan would divert nearly 800 cusecs from the Upper Ganga Canal in Uttar Pradesh directly into the Yamuna at the Wazirabad barrage. The second project aims to add 100 cusecs of water from the Munak Canal in Haryana directly into the river. Together, the two proposals could meaningfully change how much water reaches Delhi’s stretch of the Yamuna during lean months.
What is Yamuna e-flow and why does the river need it?
Yamuna e-flow, short for environmental flow, is the minimum water the river needs to sustain its ecosystem. It supports aquatic life, dilutes pollutants, and keeps the river from turning into a chain of stagnant pools during dry months.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, environmental flow is water provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems where flows are regulated and water uses compete.
The Yamuna’s Delhi stretch faces exactly this problem. Most of the river’s natural flow is diverted for irrigation and drinking water upstream at the Hathnikund Barrage. What reaches Delhi in winter is often barely a trickle, made up largely of untreated sewage from drains.
What is the Hathnikund Barrage and why does it matter?
The Upper Yamuna River Board was established under the Yamuna Water Sharing Agreement of 1994 between Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. This board allocates water shares among the states but has limited power over pollution control.
Hathnikund Barrage sits in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district. It regulates river flow for irrigation in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh through the Western and Eastern Yamuna Canals, and for Delhi’s municipal supply.
A 2013 study by the National Institute of Hydrology in Roorkee had recommended releasing 23 cubic metres per second from Hathnikund during the lean season of January and February. Haryana was releasing only 10 cumecs at the time, as fixed under the 1994 agreement.
Why did Haryana resist higher Yamuna e-flow for years?
Haryana’s position on Yamuna e-flow has shifted sharply. In an earlier submission to the National Green Tribunal, the state government called the NIH recommendation unworkable. “The State is completely in disagreement with the recommendations of NIH to increase the quantum of e-flow as its implementation can cause an environmental disaster in Haryana,” the Haryana government said in its NGT filing, according to a Tribune report.
Haryana argued the 1994 MoU allowed the arrangement to be revisited only after 2025, and asked the central Jal Shakti Ministry not to accept the NIH report.
The resistance was not purely technical. Farmers in the Western and Eastern Yamuna Canal command areas depend on the same water for irrigation. Any large diversion toward Delhi’s e-flow needs directly reduces what reaches Haryana’s fields.
What changed to bring new Yamuna e-flow proposals in 2026?
Two shifts appear to explain the new momentum behind Yamuna e-flow. First, the 1994 MoU’s 2025 revisit clause has now passed, opening room for renegotiation. Second, the political landscape looks different from earlier years.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, addressing the Northern Zonal Council meeting for the first time after taking charge in February 2025, called on neighbouring states to make collective efforts on cleaning the Yamuna and demanded a rise in the city’s share of river water.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party now governing both Haryana and Delhi, along with the Centre, coordination on water sharing looks different from the AAP led Delhi years, when public disputes were frequent. In May 2026, Gupta spoke with Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, after which Haryana assured a minimum of 1,000 cusecs of water supply through the Munak Canal to ease a summer shortage.
Officials involved in the January 2026 meeting told PTI that the Jal Shakti Ministry is also hiring a third party company to assess the real quality of water discharged from sewage treatment plants across the three states.
Is this really about e-flow or about political rivalry?
Water sharing between Haryana and Delhi has long doubled as a political flashpoint. During the 2025 Delhi Assembly election campaign, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal accused the Haryana government of contaminating Yamuna water. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini rejected the claim, saying it defamed his home state.
That kind of public exchange has largely faded since February 2025, when the BJP took charge of the Delhi government. Whether the current cooperation reflects genuine engineering progress, political alignment, or both, remains a matter for observers to judge over time.
Is Haryana sacrificing farmer interests for Delhi’s water needs?
This question sits at the heart of the debate. Diverting more water from the Munak Canal or upstream barrages toward e-flow reduces the volume available for irrigation in Haryana’s command areas.
Haryana’s earlier NGT submission had explicitly framed higher e-flow as a risk to the state’s own water security. The current 100 cusec Munak Canal proposal is smaller in scale than what NIH had originally recommended, which may explain why it has moved forward with less friction than earlier proposals.
Farmers groups have not issued a fresh public statement specifically on the January 2026 proposals at the time of writing.
How polluted is the Yamuna right now?
The numbers remain a serious concern. Ammonia above 1 part per million is toxic to fish, and prolonged human exposure at that level can damage internal organs, according to Central Pollution Control Board assessments.
The Wazirabad to Okhla stretch in Delhi is repeatedly classified as Priority I by the Central Pollution Control Board, meaning biochemical oxygen demand exceeds 30 milligrams per litre, far above the safe bathing standard of under 3 mg per litre.
Quick facts on Yamuna pollution benchmarks:
| Parameter | Safe limit | Delhi stretch reality |
| BOD for bathing quality | Below 3 mg/L | Above 30 mg/L (Priority I) |
| Ammonia toxicity to fish | Below 1 ppm | Breached at multiple points historically |
| DJB treatment capacity | Below 0.9 ppm ammonia | Exceeded during peak pollution episodes |
| Faecal coliform for bathing | Below 500 MPN/100 ml | Far exceeded in Delhi stretch |
The Central Pollution Control Board told the National Green Tribunal on July 22, 2026, that it has expanded water quality monitoring to include the Sahibi river and Shahdara drain, two of the largest contributors of untreated waste into the Yamuna.
Are STP upgrades keeping pace with the e-flow push?
Water quantity and water quality are two different problems, though they often get discussed together. Delhi has launched a Sewerage Improvement Scheme, a master plan to revamp the city’s sewerage infrastructure, and the Delhi Jal Board is working to bring discharged water down to the prescribed 10 BOD level.
A 2026 deadline has been set for Haryana to regulate the outfall of all its drains into the Yamuna to acceptable norms. Whether this timeline holds will determine if the new e-flow volumes translate into cleaner water, or simply more water carrying the same pollution load.
What do downstream states think?
Coverage of the Yamuna dispute typically focuses on Haryana and Delhi. Uttar Pradesh, however, carries an equally large stake. The Upper Ganga Canal diversion project directly involves UP, and the river continues downstream past Agra and Mathura before meeting the Ganga at Prayagraj.
Agra’s groundwater ecosystem and its pilgrimage and heritage tourism, including areas around the Taj Mahal, depend on the same river system. Neither the Uttar Pradesh government nor civic bodies in Agra or Mathura have issued detailed public reactions specifically to the January 2026 e-flow proposals at the time of writing.
What happens next?
The National Green Tribunal and Supreme Court continue to monitor compliance on Yamuna pollution and flow targets. The Supreme Court has previously intervened directly in flow disputes, including a June 2025 order directing Haryana to facilitate the passage of surplus water released by Himachal Pradesh toward Delhi during an acute shortage.
Given past patterns, further summer water stress in 2027 could reopen legal disputes if the current proposals fall behind schedule. The two e-flow projects, along with the STP upgrade deadlines, are expected to remain under judicial and public scrutiny through the coming year.