Tribunal order ignored, debris dumping on

Dumping of debris continues in the Yamuna riverbed despite repeated orders passed by the national green tribunal against the practice.

Dumping of debris continues in the Yamuna riverbed despite repeated orders passed by the national green tribunal against the practice.

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In their reports before the tribunal, local commissioners said dumping was happening even near river waters in front of a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation residential block at Geeta Colony. Debris dumped earlier was also not lifted from the site.

The tribunal ordered the authorities to ensure immediate removal and also asked the Delhi home secretary to deploy police at all access points of the river at Geeta Colony in two weeks. Warning boards that were uprooted would also be reinstalled.

The matter will now be heard every week and the next hearing is slated for July 22.

Stating that there was utter confusion among various government agencies regarding removal of debris, the tribunal warned exemplary fines would be slapped on individual officers if the orders were not implemented. The Delhi Development Authority informed the tribunal that its construction projects had generated 44,220 cubic metres of debris in the last 10 years. The authority denied having ever dumped debris in the riverbed.

Blaming “some private and unknown agencies,” the Uttar Pradesh government said it had not dumped any debris in the riverbed. It claimed to have removed 50,000 tonnes of debris so far.

The DMRC said it had generated 62,000 tonnes of debris in the last 10 years and admitted to have dumped 58,400 tonnes in the riverbed.

It promised to remove all debris by August 15 and admitted there was no separate mechanism for the removal of waste in the last 10 years.

The secretary of the union ministry of environment and forests will from Thursday hold a daily meeting to finalise a beautification plan.

A final plan along with the course of action to be adopted for removal of debris and cleaning of the riverbank will be submitted later.