LG reviews Yamuna revival works, sets June 30 deadline for clean floodplain

Delhi LG VK Saxena said that the clean up of garbage along Yamuna ghats is also being taken up in “mission mode” and the beautification of ghats will also be completed by June 30.

Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Sunday set June 30 as deadline for cleaning up the 22-km stretch of the Yamuna floodplain between Wazirabad and Okhlaas he inspected the works to clean the supplementary drain at Wazirabad and Sur Ghat at the river.

VK Saxena, Delhi lieutenant governor, inspects the steps being taken by authorities to clean the supplementary drain at Wazirabad on Sunday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Supplementary drain is the second biggest drain in Delhi, which meets the Yamuna at Sur Ghat near the Signature Bridge. Delhi’s biggest Najafgarh drain also meets the river at the same point.

“Smaller drains that dump waste into the Najafgarh drain are being trapped with 16 of them completely cut off from polluting the Yamuna. The process is on full swing and we are hopeful that the June 30 target will be achieved, and people of Delhi will witness Yamuna in a completely different shape,” he added.

Saxena said that the clean up of garbage along Yamuna ghats is also being taken up in “mission mode” and the beautification of ghats will also be completed by June 30.

Agencies have installed aerators, garbage removal conveyor belts, floating islands and check dams in the supplementary drain to control the waste from flowing into the river. Without naming anyone, the LG said, “If the ministers of our government want to take credit of our work then I have no objection. We are not doing this work for credit and our goal is to provide good atmosphere and clean Yamuna to people of Delhi. I don’t want to talk politics and everyone should work together to clean Yamuna.”

Delhi water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused Saxena of claiming credit for the work done by Delhi government. Bharadwaj said that Saxena did not have the constitutional power to allocate money for projects and only the Delhi government could do that. He also shared a list of various initiatives taken by the Delhi government to clean the Yamuna.

“Yamuna cleaning projects are being taken up by the government and the LG is visiting drains of the city to claim its credit. The work to clean the drains had started in 2017. These projects are being taken up by departments of Delhi government while LG is claiming credit. LG is not empowered to spend a single penny of Delhi government’s budget. LG should do his work and if any good work is carried out by us, he can appreciate it,” Bharadwaj said at a press conference.

Bhardwaj said that the project to clean drains was started in 2017 through Ghogha drain revival which had been appreciated even by the BJP led central government. “Delhi government also received an award for Rajokri lake project. Delhi government has planned these projects, allocated budget for them and directed the departments to initiate the projects. At the final stage, LG is claiming the credit,” he added. The minister said that in-situ treatment of the Supplementary drain was also started in 2021. “In March 2022, Manish Sisodia in his budget speech allocated ₹705 for cleaning the drains and this was three months before Saxena was appointed as the LG,” he said.

Amidst the power tussle, the Yamuna clean-up has also emerged as new contested space between AAP government and LG Saxena. The new high powered Yamuna cleaning committee headed by the LG was constituted by NGT on January 9, 2023 for cleaning and rejuvenation of Yamuna. The clean-up of Yamuna also remains one of the key promises of the AAP led state government. In November 2021. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced a six-point action plan to clean the river Yamuna by February, 2025. The plan includes improving the city’s sewage treatment capacity and network, cleaning major drains, de-silting storm water drains and taking action against industries releasing untreated waste.

The LG office did not comment on the allegations made by the minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on LG taking credit for government’s work.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that the people of Delhi are grateful to the LG of Delhi Vinay Kumar Saxena for cleaning the Yamuna and getting the Yamuna front beautification work done in the last six months. “Due to the efforts of the Lt. Governor more than 50% area of ​​the Yamuna front in Delhi has been cleaned and it will be fully cleaned in the next three months. Probably the entire Yamuna front in Delhi will be developed as a tourism location. It is regrettable that in the last eight years Arvind Kejriwal government had limited the work of Yamuna cleaning to announcements and Rs. 6800 crore provided by the central government in the name of Yamuna cleaning had been lost to corruption. If the Kejriwal government had done even partial work on cleaning the Yamuna in the last eight years, then today the Lt. Governor himself would not have to run the Yamuna cleaning campaign.”