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Following a meeting between Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena and the Chief Secretary of the national capital, where an immediate directive was issued to clean the Yamuna River, trash skimmers, weed harvesters, and dredge utility vehicles were deployed to the river on Sunday.
According to a statement from the LG's office, there is a 'four-pronged strategy' to tackle the issue of pollution in the Yamuna. "To begin with, the trash, garbage and silt in the Yamuna River stream will be removed. Simultaneously cleaning operations in the Najafgarh Drain, Supplementary Drain, and all other major drains will start," read the statement. For the other two methods, the statement added, "3. At the same time, a daily watch on the existing STPs in terms of their capacity and output will be maintained, and a time-bound plan in terms of construction of new STPs/DSTPs, etc., to meet the actual shortfall of treating about 400 MGD of sewer will be put in place and operationalised." The office has set a three-year timeline to clean the river, emphasising the need for 'seamless coordination' between various agencies and departments, including the DJB, I&FC, MCD, Environment Department, PWD, and DDA. "The execution of this ambitious plan that targets cleaning the river in about 3 years will require seamless coordination between various agencies and departments that include DJB, I&FC, MCD, Environment Department, PWD and DDA," the statement read. The LG has also ordered weekly monitoring of the progress, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been instructed to maintain strict vigilance over the process. "Monitoring of the abovementioned works will be done at the highest level on a weekly basis. In addition to this, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been directed to keep a strict vigil on the discharge of untreated effluent into the drains by Industrial Units in the City," the statement added. Cleaning the Yamuna, which has repeatedly seen toxic foam spewing from certain areas, has been a promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before they won the Delhi Assembly elections. The campaign had multiple accusations levied against both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and BJP regarding the health of the river. It dominated the election campaign, with AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal claiming that the Haryana government was mixing "poison in the Yamuna" river. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his poll speech ahead of the Assembly elections had also said that the BJP will make "Yamuna ji the identity of Delhi." The BJP won a historic mandate for the state assembly and will lead the National capital's government after 27 years. The party won a majority by bagging 48 out of 70 seats, while Aam Aadmi Party's tally saw a massive 22 from its previous tally of 62. On February 13, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra asserted that the party would begin cleaning the Yamuna and finish within the given timeframe. "We have to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi. We will begin working on the Yamuna and finish the task within the given timeframe. Our priority is to bring the garbage mounts to ground zero," Malhotra told ANI. (ANI)
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