The initiative to revive Delhi's Yamuna, long plagued by hazardous pollution, has begun. The LG's office has issued directives to accelerate the cleaning efforts in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's electoral promise to tackle the capital's water pollution crisis.
Before the Delhi Assembly elections, cleaning the Yamuna was among the biggest electoral promises in the BJP's manifesto. The party stated that a BJP-led Delhi government would collaborate with the center to develop the Yamuna riverfront and rejuvenate the river by establishing a Yamuna fund.
On Saturday, Delhi's LG VK Saxena met with the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary (Irrigation and Flood Control) to discuss initiating the clean-up process. Consequently, on Sunday, a large-scale cleaning operation commenced, deploying debris removal machines, weed harvesters, and dredging utility crafts to remove waste and pollutants from the river.
Source: aajtak
Sources from the LG's office informed India Today TV that a compelling strategy for the project has been established,
which is as follows...
Removing Waste and Silt:
The focus will be on extracting waste, silt, and other pollutants settled in the main stream of the Yamuna.
Cleaning of Drains:
The Najafgarh drain, supplementary drains, and all critical water drainage channels that feed into the river will undergo simultaneous cleaning drives.
Monitoring Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs):
To ensure optimal river cleaning, the daily performance and output of existing STPs will be evaluated rigorously.
Expansion of Treatment Infrastructure:
A plan will be formulated for constructing new STPs and decentralized STPs to address the existing deficit in treating approximately 400 million gallons of sewage daily.
Multi-Agency Monitoring:
The project to clean the Yamuna aims to restore the river within three years, involving efforts from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Irrigation and Flood Control Department (I&FC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Environment Department, Public Works Department (PWD), and Delhi Development Authority (DDA), among others.
Moreover, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been instructed to strictly monitor industrial units to ensure that untreated waste is not discharged into the city's drains.
Read More: Massive machines arrive for Yamuna clean-up in Delhi; LG assures promise fulfilled
Why did AAP approach the Supreme Court?
The campaign to revive the Yamuna River gained momentum in January 2023 when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed a high-level committee chaired by LG Saxena. However, after five meetings, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, led by Arvind Kejriwal, approached the Supreme Court on July 10, 2023, to seek a stay on the NGT's directives from then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
This legal intervention disrupted the efforts to clean the river, causing pollution levels to rise once more. Consequently, critical parameters like Chemical Oxygen Demand (CoD) and Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand (BoD) deteriorated to record highs at the beginning of the year.
