'Working on Cleaning Yamuna at War Footing': Kejriwal Announces 6-Point Plan

The process of cleaning of the river will finish by February 2025, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said.

File photo of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.

(Photo: PTI)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, 18 November, said that the state government will implement a six-point action plan to "completely change the face of the Yamuna river" by reducing its pollution levels.

"Work has started to clean the Yamuna on war-footing. I will take a dip in the river myself before the next elections," the chief minister was quoted as saying.

The process of cleaning the river will be over by February 2025, he indicated. "The current state of the river is a result of 70 years of pollution, carrying all of Delhi’s waste. And this 70 years worth of pollution isn’t something that can be cleaned up in two days," Kejriwal said.

Recently, photos of toxic foam-enveloped Yamuna river had flooded social media. High levels of ammonia and increased phosphate content, due to industrial discharge, are responsible for polluting the river.

What Is the 6-Point Plan To Clean Yamuna?

Arvind Kejriwal, detailing the various facets of the action plan to clean the Yamuna river, said on Thursday:

"First – many untreated sewers end up flowing into the Yamuna, carrying a large amount of chemicals and pollutants, thereby contaminating it. Currently, we are equipped to treat around 600 MGD sewers when we need our capacity to be around 850MGD. For this, work is going on to improve treatment and cleaning of sewers."

Secondly, the government will undertake the in-situ treatment of four major drains in Delhi, for which the cleaning work will be done at the place itself without shifting the water.

“Third... A lot of industries claim on paper that their waste is diverted to treatment plants but instead they slyly jump the process and throw it in the drains. We’ll put a plug on this. We will ensure that all the Effluent Treatment Plants work to the best of their capacity."

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal

“Fourth – the slums or the Jhuggi-Jhopri Clusters of Delhi rely on Jan Suvidha or Public Convenience Complexes. At many places the drainage connections of these complexes have been wrongly connected to the stormwater drains instead of the sewer system... We will change this system,” he stated.

Further, the Delhi Government will undertake the process connecting each household in the city to the sewer network, and the service will be provided at nominal charges.

"And sixth — the entire sewer network of Delhi is being desilted and rehabilitated to ensure that it functions to the best of its capabilities,” said Kejriwal.