NGT asks DDA for details on Yamuna cleaning

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to share its stance on whether to constitute a ‘riverfront

New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday asked the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to share its stance on whether to constitute a ‘riverfront management Authority’ dedicated to cleaning river Yamuna. Also, the green panel has sought a response from the Delhi government over the ownership of drains in the city and from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on experimenting with alternative technologies to treat sewage.

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A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel sought DDA’s response on Yamuna Monitoring Committee’s suggestion on setting up a dedicated riverfront authority for taking care of the floodplains.

The two-member committee comprises former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra and retired expert member B S Sajwan. The committee had in a report submitted last year had suggested various measures to expedite the process of rejuvenating the river.

The Tribunal said, the committee in its report has suggested that a new mechanism needs to be developed under the DDA to deal with issues relating to the riverfront.

Besides, it sought responses from Delhi Chief Secretary, DSIIDC (Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation), PWD (Public Works Department), and Delhi’s three municipal corporations on the committee’s suggestion that the management of drains be given to a single agency for better functioning.

Also, the green court directed the CPCB to submit a report to the Yamuna committee by February 7 specifying at least 10 generic and representative models which are technologically feasible to treat sewage. The CPCB had filed a report earlier to which the committee had said that the report does not specify where the models can be adapted.

The Yamuna committee had earlier suggested that since the setting up of sewage treatment plants (STPs) is an exercise spanning over years, alternative methods such as phyto-remediation, which is low-cost and uses various types of plants to destroy contaminants in groundwater can be experimented with for some “immediate” improvement in the quality of water in the river.

Also the panel directed the Haryana government to take remedial action regarding untreated discharge of sewage into river Yamuna at Faridabad.

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