On Tuesday, the Supreme Court observed that a change in Delhi's government might help resolve all disputes related to the Yamuna, including efforts to clean the river and ensure Haryana provides a fair share of water before it reaches the national capital.

The court took suo moto cognisance of these issues in January 2021 and has issued directives since then. In this hearing, amicus curiae Meenakshi Arora highlighted the ongoing dispute between the governments of Delhi and Haryana over water supply.

"... but now, with the change of government, all disputes might get resolved. In these changed circumstances, better implementation may be possible," Justice BR Gavai answered.

The remark was made during a hearing on pollution in the Yamuna and its water distribution, which flows through Haryana and Uttar Pradesh before reaching Delhi.

Earlier, only the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments were led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, after a decisive victory over the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the BJP governs all three states.

A two-pronged approach drove the BJP’s success in Delhi. One strategy focused on criticising AAP leader and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for failing to clean the Yamuna, a promise he had made before the 2020 elections.

The party also strongly countered Kejriwal’s allegation that Haryana’s BJP government had contaminated Delhi’s water supply by mixing "poison" into the Yamuna. This referred to the dangerously high ammonia levels in the river.

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini dismissed Kejriwal’s claims by publicly drinking Yamuna water, while the Election Commission reprimanded the former Delhi CM over his remarks.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly criticised Arvind Kejriwal’s claims, calling them "disgusting" and asserting that he had been drinking water from the Yamuna for 11 years.

The political fight over the polluted xriver became a central point of contention. BJP leaders, starting with Modi, reverently referred to it as 'Yamuna maiya,' or 'Mother Yamuna,' both before and after the elections.

During his victory speech, Modi began and ended with the phrase "Yamuna ki jai" and stated, "People of Delhi have been crying after seeing the condition of Yamuna..."

With the BJP now in power, the party has pledged to clean up the Yamuna.

Last week, it unveiled a three-year plan for the river’s restoration and began surface cleaning operations using machines to remove biological and plastic waste. Additionally, authorities launched a crackdown on industrial units along the river discharging untreated sewage into its waters.