The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is carrying out a massive demolition drive on the Yamuna banks following an order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Food chain
In an earlier order, the NGT had prohibited any cultivation of edible crops and vegetables on the Yamuna floodplains.
The green panel had noted that the river’s water is highly polluted as it carries sewage an effluent from industries, but is still used for irrigation that can permeate the food chain and have harmful effects on humans.
“We have been asking the farmers and squatters on the floodplains to vacate the area for a long time but to no avail. We are now carrying out a major demolition drive to evict them from our land,” said a senior DDA official, who didn’t wish to be named.
“The demolition drive is being carried out following orders from the NGT, which said that only flower cultivation can be permitted on the floodplains but no edible crops,” the official said, adding “We have been carrying out the demolition for a few days now and about 800 acres of public land has been cleared.
