It’s time to beautify the Yamuna: NGT

The National Green Tribunal wants the recommendations to restore and beautify Yamuna floodplains to be executed effectively. It also stressed on checking untreated sewage from flowing into the river.

A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the expert committee constituted by it to see if it required any prioritisation for installation of sewage treatment plants on drains. The NGT was hearing two petitions filed by environmental activist Manoj Misra.

The expert panel, comprising professor Brij Gopal, professor A.A. Kazmi and Prof. A. K. Gosain, was asked to ensure that the entire project was completed within two years. It filed two reports before the Tribunal. One was on the restoration and beautification of the bank of the Yamuna in Delhi and the second on prevention and controlling of pollution in the Yamuna.

An action plan submitted before the NGT proposed a Sewarage Master Plan- 2031 to ensure that comprehensive, technically and financially viable plans are in place for implementation of sewerage works in unsewered areas of Delhi by integrating with existing network and sewerage infrastructure so as to bring the latter to their optimum utilisation state.

As per the Sustainable Master Plan-2031, Delhi has been delineated into 12 drainage zones — Shahdara, Okhla , Keshopur, Rohini-Rithala, Coronation Pillar Drainage, Dwarka , Najafgarh Drainage Zone, Nilothi Drainage Zone, Narela, South Delhi, Outer South Delhi and Kanjhawala-Bawana. It said 201 stormwater drains are carrying sewage and there was need to immediately cut off sewage flow in them. It also proposed a sewage interceptor system in unsewered areas to trap sewage from going into the Yamuna.

Another report on restoration and beautification of flood plains said the flood-carrying capacity of the river has been greatly reduced by encroachment, therefore, riverbed should be restored to previous level through dredging of accumulated sediments and solid wastes.

Meanwhile, the South Delhi civic body has been directed to clean the drains near Archana Cinema in GK-I to remove all the junk or municipal solid waste thrown in the drains within one week. The Residents’ Welfare Associations in the area have also been directed to ensure no waste is thrown into the drains.