Yamuna is unfortunately one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially in the banks near New Delhi, the capital of India. Almost 57% of the city`s waste is dumped into the river. Numerous attempts have been made to clean it, however the efforts have brought few changes. The government of India has spent more than $500 million to clean up the river, the river is still being polluted with garbage while most sewage treatment facilities are lacking of funds or malfunctioning. In addition, the water in this river remains torpid for almost 9 months in a year infuriating the situation.

Delhi alone debouches around 3,296 MLD (million litres per day) of dirt in the river. The government of India over the next five years has prepared elaborate plans to reconstruct and revamp the sewage system and also the drainage system that empty into the river. In the context of river pollution, certain actions of cleaning river have been strictly taken by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of the Government of India (GOI) in 12 towns of Haryana, 8 towns of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi under an action plan called the Yamuna Action Plan-YAP, which is being implemented since 1993 by the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is also participating actively in the Yamuna Action Plan in 15 of the above 21 towns, excepting the 6 towns of Haryana included later on the direction of the honorable Supreme Court of India with a loan assistance of 17.773 billion Japanese Yen that is equivalent to about Rs. 700 crore INR. The Government of India is providing the funds for the remaining 6 towns that are added later. The Indian government`s plans to repair sewage lines are predicted to improve the water quality of the river 90% by the year 2010. In 2005, award-winning documentary Jijivisha was made based on River Yamuna.

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