Devotees offer prayers in river Yamuna on the occasion of Chhath Puja.
| Photo Credit: File photo

New Delhi:

Trash skimmers, weed harvesters and dredge utility units were in action as the Yamuna cleaning work, which dominated the headlines in the run-up to Delhi polls, began on Sunday. 

The action follows a meeting between Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and the Chief Secretary of the national capital, where an immediate directive was issued to clean the Yamuna river.

According to a statement from the Lieutenant Governor’s office, there is a “four-pronged strategy” to tackle the issue of pollution in the Yamuna.

“To begin with, the trash, garbage and silt in the Yamuna River stream will be removed. Simultaneously cleaning operations in the Najafgarh Drain, Supplementary Drain, and all other major drains will start,” read the statement.

For the other two methods, the statement added, “3. At the same time, a daily watch on the existing STPs (sewage treatment plants) in terms of their capacity and output will be maintained, and a time-bound plan in terms of construction of new STPs/DSTPs, etc., to meet the actual shortfall of treating about 400 MGD of sewer will be put in place and operationalised.”

The L-G’s office has set a three-year timeline to clean the river, emphasising the need for ‘seamless coordination’ between various agencies and departments.

“The execution of this ambitious plan that targets cleaning the river in about 3 years will require seamless coordination between various agencies and departments that include DJB (Delhi Jal Board), I&FC (Irrigation and Flood Control Department), MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), Environment Department, PWD (Public Works Department) and DDA (Delhi Development Authority),” the statement read.

There will be weekly monitoring of the cleaning progress, and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been instructed to has been directed to ensure that industrial units in the city do not discharge dirty water into the drains. This step is being taken as part of the efforts to rejuvenate the Yamuna river, improve the quality of its water, and control pollution.

“Monitoring of the abovementioned works will be done at the highest level on a weekly basis. In addition to this, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has been directed to keep a strict vigil on the discharge of untreated effluent into the drains by Industrial Units in the City,” the statement added.

Cleaning the Yamuna, which has repeatedly seen toxic foam spewing from certain areas, has been a promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before they won the Delhi Assembly elections. 

In the lead-up to the polls, Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the Haryana government was mixing “poison in the Yamuna” river.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his poll speech ahead of the Assembly elections had also said that the BJP will make “Yamuna ji the identity of Delhi.”

“I have pledged during the election campaign that we will make Yamuna ji the identity of Delhi. I know this is not very difficult. No matter how much time is taken, no matter how much energy is used, but if the resolve is strong, then blessings of Yamuna ji will remain with us,” assured the Prime Minister after the BJP won the polls. The win comes after a wait of 27 years. 

On February 13, Union Minister Harsh Malhotra asserted that the party would begin cleaning the Yamuna and finish within the given timeframe.

“We have to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme in Delhi. We will begin working on the Yamuna and finish the task within the given timeframe. Our priority is to bring the garbage mounds to ground zero,” Mr Malhotra told news agency ANI.

The restoration of the Yamuna began in January 2023 in mission mode when the National Green Tribunal (NGT) formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of L-G Saxena. The committee’s objective is to control the pollution of the river and take concrete steps for its cleaning. The committee has ordered that industrial units in Delhi must not discharge any dirty or polluted water into the drains.

Following five meetings of the high-level committee overseeing the cleaning efforts, the then Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Arvind Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court, challenging the NGT order appointing the L-G as the head of a high-level committee on Yamuna River pollution. 

The then Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, stayed the NGT’s order. Consequently, the Yamuna restoration work was halted.

Earlier this year, pollution levels reached record highs.

New Delhi:

The Congress on Tuesday waded into a spat between the AAP and BJP – that the latter, through its Haryana government, had tried to put “poison” in the Yamuna and so contaminate Delhi’s water supply.

A Congress delegation met the Election Commission this afternoon to complain against both, demanding action the AAP if the claims are proven false and against the BJP if true.

This was after the AAP’s top leaders, including party boss Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, filed complaints of their own over ammonia levels in the Yamuna.

Mr Mann and other AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Atishi also met poll body officials last night, after which the EC sought a “detailed report” from the Haryana government.

On Monday Mr Kejriwal declared the BJP had done “something that may never have been done in history”. “The people of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh… but the Haryana government has mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna and sent it here…”

He claimed only vigilance by the Delhi Jal Board saved the city, and slammed the “attempt to create chaos… hoping blame will fall on AAP”. The DJB, however, did not play ball; it called the claims “false”.

READ | Row Over Kejriwal’s “Haryana Mixing Poison In Yamuna” Claim

The BJP too hit out; Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini said, “It is their nature and thinking to accuse and run away…” and Labour Minister Anil Vij called Mr Kejriwal “a factory of lies”.

Sources later said the Haryana government may take legal action.

The AAP and Mr Kejriwal, though, remain undaunted in making their “poisoned water” allegations. This morning the ruling party accused the BJP of “water terrorism”.

READ | Delhi Govt Repeats Water Poisoning Charge Against Haryana

“Ammonia levels continue to be six times above normal in the Yamuna… at the point it enters Delhi from Haryana. Such levels are extremely toxic… This water cannot be treated and supplied to the people of Delhi. Otherwise, their lives will be at risk,” the Chief Minister said.

“This is not an act of negligence; it is an act of water terrorism to deliberately impact the conduct of free and fair elections in Delhi,” she wrote in a letter to the Election Commission.

Mr Saini responded again, thundering, “For these blatantly false and disgusting statements, Arvind Kejriwal should immediately apologise to the people of Haryana and Delhi…”

The Congress has now taken up arms but, surprisingly, it isn’t (overtly) against the BJP. Instead, it seems to be attacking the AAP, a fellow INDIA opposition bloc member and an (on paper) ally.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit, who is contesting the New Delhi Assembly seat against Mr Kejriwal (and Parvesh Verma of the BJP), said he was surprised by the lack of Haryana Police action against the AAP leader.

The debate around the cleanliness and potability of Yamuna water is of particular significance now, since these were assurances made by AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal before the 2020 Delhi election.

Neither promise, though, has been fulfilled, and Mr Kejriwal is aware of this issue.

READ | Arvind Kejriwal On 3 Delhi Promises He “Could Not Fulfil”

Last week he admitted to Delhi voters he had failed to ensure Yamuna water is both clean and drinkable, but insisted this will become a reality if his AAP is voted to a third consecutive term.

“I am truthful to my promises. Either I fulfil them, or I admit I promised but couldn’t do it. I could not fulfill three promises – cleaning the Yamuna, providing clean drinking water, and making Delhi’s roads of European standards,” Mr Kejriwal said at a rally in Delhi’s Laxmi Bai Nagar.

He repeated that admission – a tactic seen as trying to take the sting out of attacks by the BJP on this topic – this morning as he released another section of his party’s pre-poll manifesto.

Unfortunately for the AAP, Mr Kejriwal’s acknowledgement has not stopped the BJP’s attacks. Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a jab as he took a dip in the Ganga today during Maha Kumbh.

READ | “Take That World-Famous Dip”: Amit Shah’s Yamuna Dare To Kejriwal

“He [Mr Kejriwal] promised he would purify River Yamuna in seven years and modify it just like London’s River Thames,” Mr Shah said at a rally.

“He even said he would take a dip in the Yamuna in front of Delhiites. Arvind Kejriwal, the people of Delhi are waiting for your world-famous dip in the Yamuna. If not in Yamuna, he can go to the Mahakumbh and take a dip over there to get rid of his sins,” Mr Shah said.

According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee report from October 2023, multiple projects to clean the river are running behind schedule. The report filed with the National Green Tribunal drew particular attention to delays by the Delhi Jal Board and the Delhi Development Authority.

This is not the first time a BJP leader has dared Mr Kejriwal to take a dip in the polluted stretch. Earlier, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused him of “turning the holy Yamuna into a dirty drain”.

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New Delhi:

The AAP and BJP continue to bicker as the clock ticks down to next week’s Delhi Assembly election, with ex-Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal now accusing the latter of “mixing poison” in the city’s water supply, in an attempt to “create chaos… hoping the blame will fall” on his party’s administration.

Speaking to reporters Monday, he said the BJP had done “something that may never have been done in history”. He claimed the saffron party – in power in neighbouring Haryana – had added a poisonous substance to the Yamuna river that flows through that state and into the national capital.

“The people of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh… but the Haryana government has mixed poison in the water coming to Delhi from the Yamuna and sent it here… it is only due to the vigilance of our Delhi Jal Board engineers that this water was stopped.”

“It (the allegedly poisoned water) was stopped at the Delhi border… we did not allow it to enter the city. We have seen such things in wars but today, what the BJP did by mixing poison in Delhi’s water supply, is an attempt to create chaos in Delhi, hoping blame will fall on the AAP.”

Delhi: AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal says, “In the upcoming elections in Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has done something that may never have been done in history. The people of Delhi get drinking water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The Haryana government,… pic.twitter.com/vswQA87M7h

— IANS (@ians_india) January 27, 2025

According to reports, the “poison” Mr Kejriwal was referring to is ammonia.

High ammonia levels in the Yamuna has been a problem as the Delhi government scrambles to ensure round-the-clock, and clean, water supply for the city’s residents; by some accounts the capital needs over 3,000 million litres of water per day, whereas the usual supply is only about 2,000 MLD.

The shortfall has been exacerbated by high ammonia levels, the AAP has claimed.

BJP Slams “Baseless” Charges

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has denied Mr Kejriwal’s claim. “It is their nature and thinking to accuse and run away…” he said at an event in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh: Regarding Aam Aadmi Party’s allegations that Haryana is supplying toxic water to Delhi, Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini says, “It is their nature and thinking to accuse and run away…” pic.twitter.com/JO3L8juyvk

— IANS (@ians_india) January 27, 2025

Mr Saini’s rebuttal was backed, more forcefully, by Labour Minister Anil Vij. “Arvind Kejriwal is a factory of lies… take journalists and experts to the place where the Yamuna enters Delhi and check the quality of water. Then check in Delhi… they will see the difference,” he said.

#WATCH | Chandigarh: Haryana Minister Anil Vij says, “Arvind Kejriwal is a factory of lies… Take all journalists and analysts to the place where Yamuna enters Delhi and check the quality of water, and then check the quality of water in Delhi. They will see the difference. Its… pic.twitter.com/bJiJtaPLXj

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2025

“It is not our job to check clean the river in Delhi… it was Kejriwal’s, which he couldn’t do.”

Election Commission Wants Report

Meanwhile, AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Atishi and her Punjab counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, met the Election Commission earlier today to make this complaint. The poll body sought a detailed report from the Haryana government by noon tomorrow, i.e., January 28.

The debate around the cleanliness and potability of Yamuna water is of particular significance now, since these were assurances made by AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal before the 2020 Delhi election.

Neither promise, though, has been fulfilled, and Mr Kejriwal is aware of this issue.

READ | Arvind Kejriwal On 3 Delhi Promises He “Could Not Fulfil”

Last week he admitted to Delhi voters he had failed to ensure Yamuna water is both clean and drinkable, but insisted this will become a reality if his AAP is voted to a third consecutive term.

“I am truthful to my promises. Either I fulfil them or I admit I promised but couldn’t do it. I could not fulfill three promises – cleaning the Yamuna, providing clean drinking water, and making Delhi’s roads of European standards,” Mr Kejriwal said at a rally in Delhi’s Laxmi Bai Nagar.

He repeated that admission – a tactic seen as trying to take the sting out of attacks by the BJP on this topic – this morning as he released another section of his party’s pre-poll manifesto.

BJP Targets Kejriwal Over Yamuna

Unfortunately for the AAP, Mr Kejriwal’s acknowledgement has not stopped the BJP’s attacks. Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a jab as he took a dip in the Ganga today during Maha Kumbh.

READ | “Take That World-Famous Dip”: Amit Shah’s Yamuna Dare To Kejriwal

“He [Mr Kejriwal] promised he would purify River Yamuna in seven years and modify it just like London’s River Thames,” Mr Shah said at a rally.

#WATCH | #DelhiElections2025 | Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, “He promised he would purify the Yamuna River in 7 years and modify it just like London’s Thames River… He even said he would take a dip in the Yamuna in front of Delhiites. Arvind Kejriwal, the people of Delhi… pic.twitter.com/44rsVKJy5m

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2025

“He even said he would take a dip in the Yamuna in front of Delhiites. Arvind Kejriwal, the people of Delhi are waiting for your world-famous dip in the Yamuna. If not in Yamuna, he can go to the Mahakumbh and take a dip over there to get rid of his sins,” Mr Shah said.

According to a Delhi Pollution Control Committee report from October 2023, multiple projects to clean the river are running behind schedule. The report filed with the National Green Tribunal drew particular attention to delays by the Delhi Jal Board and the Delhi Development Authority.

This is not the first time a BJP leader has dared Mr Kejriwal to take a dip in the polluted stretch. Earlier, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused him of “turning the holy Yamuna into a dirty drain”.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

East Delhi MP Harsh Malhotra on Saturday blamed the Aam Aadmi Party government for pollution in the Yamuna, saying cleaning the river has never been its priority.

Responding to the BJP’s allegations, the AAP in a statement said, “The BJP is only indulging in dirty politics. The Aam Aadmi Party government is working at a war level against pollution… The BJP government is polluting the Yamuna by sending dirty water from Uttar Pradesh while their leaders are merely putting on a show in Delhi,” AAP said.

Mr Malhotra made the remark after going to the banks of the river at Kalindi Kunj, accompanied by BJP spokesperson Anil Gupta and local councillor Brahm Singh.

Referring to the thick white froth covering the Yamuna River said, “The Arvind Kejriwal government has only spread lies and illusions about cleaning the Yamuna. When the Lieutenant Governor initiated steps to clean the Yamuna, the Kejriwal government approached the Supreme Court to block them. Cleaning the river has always been a political issue for AAP, not a priority.”

He said that despite a decade of promises, pollution in the Yamuna has only worsened, posing serious health risks to people living near it.

Since Friday morning, the Yamuna River has been covered with a thick layer of white froth. Experts have warned against taking a dip in the river, even as people gear up for the Chhath Puja.

The Delhi government on Friday said it is closely monitoring the situation.

Mr Malhotra also questioned the AAP government’s handling of the Rs 1,000 crore collected as pollution cess, intended for tackling air and water pollution.

“The Delhi government should clarify what happened to these funds,” he said.

The MP also highlighted the severe drop in oxygen levels in the Yamuna as it flows through Delhi and the absence of sewage treatment plants at critical drainage points.

The oxygen content of the river’s water drops from 9 units when it enters Delhi to zero as it leaves, making it hazardous for both residents and the environment, he told PTI Videos.

AAP leader Reena Gupta said, “Whether it’s the issue of water pollution or air pollution, these issues cross administrative boundaries. There is an airshed within approximately 300 kilometres of Delhi, and the Supreme Court has consistently stated that all state governments need to work together to address this issue.”

“However, only the AAP governments in Delhi and Punjab are actively tackling it. In Haryana, there has been a 30 per cent increase in stubble-burning incidents, while Uttar Pradesh has seen a 70 per cent increase. In contrast, Punjab has experienced a 30 per cent reduction in such incidents, she claimed. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)