SC hopes for smoother Yamuna clean-up due to BJP govt in Delhi

The court was hearing a suo motu petition of 2021 on remediation of polluted rivers, with a focus on cleaning the Yamuna, due to the constant refrain by the Delhi government of high ammonia content in the Yamuna

New Delhi

Delhi authorities spray chemicals to dissolve toxic foam in the Yamuna in November 2024. (HT Photo)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed optimism about better implementation of plans to clean the Yamuna, citing a “change of circumstance” in Delhi after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in Delhi.

Observing that a BJP government is in place in neighbouring Haryana too—from where the Yamuna flows into the Capital—a bench headed by justice Bhushan R Gavai said: “With the change of circumstance, disputes between the Haryana and Delhi governments may not arise.”

The court was hearing a suo motu petition of 2021 on remediation of polluted rivers, with a focus on cleaning the Yamuna, due to the constant refrain by the Delhi government of high ammonia content in the Yamuna that could not be processed by treatment plans that ultimately led to water shortfall in the Capital.

Pollution in the Yamuna has been a constant issue of concern over the past few decades, with the court initially taking cognisance of a news report titled “And Quiet Flows the Maily Yamuna” published in these columns in July 1994. It led to a series of orders for cleaning the river and after monitoring the issue for 23 years with little success, it transferred the case to the NGT on April 24, 2017.

High ammonia levels in the Yamuna also took centre stage ahead of the recently concluded Delhi Assembly elections, with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accusing Haryana of “poisoning” the Yamuna water. The issue snowballed into a major controversy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi accusing Arvind Kejriwal of insulting Haryana. The AAP later clarified that the comment was a reference to the high ammonia levels.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had also informed the court that its treatment plants were able to treat water with ammonia content up to 0.9 ppm. But due to higher concentration of ammonia in water, treatment plants at Chandrawal, Wazirabad, Okhla, Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi could not function to their full capacity, and blamed Haryana for discharging untreated sewerage into the river.

On Tuesday, the court asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who was representing both the Centre and Delhi government, whether the issued can be sent to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which has been monitoring the Yamuna pollution case since 2017.

The bench, also comprising justice Augustine George Masih, said, “You (ASG) take instructions on whether any other case on Yamuna pollution is pending before this court. Consult your officials in the ministry of environment forests and climate change (MoEFCC) and Delhi government with regard to the issues involved in this petition. In the changed circumstances, there will be better implementation of plans.”

Senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, assisting the court as amicus curiae along with advocate Vanshaja Shukla, told the court that prior to the top court taking up this matter suo motu in January 2021, the NGT had passed various orders and was monitoring the implementation of the river clean-up through a Yamuna Monitoring Committee. This committee was disbanded after January 2021, Arora informed the court.

The court said it will examine whether the issue needs to be sent back to NGT. However, in the event there was any other matter on the Yamuna pollution pending in this court, all petitions on the issue need to be consolidated, the bench observed. The court posted the matter for March.