After a long wait the cleaning of Yamuna River officially started on Sunday, with Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena inaugurating a four-pronged ambitious plan to rejuvenate the river. The move follows years of waiting, with the government unveiling a three-year plan to tackle pollution in the river.
The plan involves the deployment of trash skimmers, weed harvesters, and dredge utility crafts to clear waste from the river, the LG’s office said. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has also been directed to crack down on industrial units that are releasing untreated effluents into drains.
On social media site X, the LG’s office pointed out the development, mentioning that the cleaning activities had officially started. “As vowed by Hon’ble Prime Minister @narendramodi during Assembly Elections, efforts to clean Yamuna commenced today with trash skimmers, weed cutters, and dredge utility crafts already operational,” the tweet mentioned.
The four-pronged strategy outlined in on X include:
1. To begin with, the trash, garbage and silt in the Yamuna river stream will be removed.
2. Simultaneously cleaning operations in the Najafgarh Drain, Supplementary Drain and all other major drains will start.
3. At the same time, a daily watch on the existing STPs in terms of their capacity and output will be maintained, and
4. A time bound plan in terms of construction of new STPs/DSTPs on drains etc to meet the actual shortfall of treating about 400 MGD of sewer will be put in place and operationalized.
The implementation of this ambitious project, which targets the cleaning of Yamuna within three years, would involve coordination among different agencies like Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Environment Department, Public Works Department (PWD), and Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the LG’s office added.
The LG’s office also added that the project will be monitored at the highest level on a weekly basis. Rejuvenation work started in mission mode in January 2023 when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed a High-Level Committee (HLC) under the Chairmanship of the Governor.