The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pulled up the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) over pollution in the Yamuna while stating that the water quality has deteriorated as pollutants were still being discharged into drains.
A Bench headed by NGT chief, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, directed the Delhi Chief Secretary to coordinate with Chief Secretaries of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and monitor the progress of cleaning the river by evolving effective administrative mechanisms.
The green panel also observed that the Yamuna Monitoring Committee (YMC) had noted several gaps in generation and treatment of sewage.
‘Bridge gaps’
“Such gaps need to be bridged in U.P. and Haryana also. Necessary devices for sewage and effluent treatment have still not been installed to the required extent. In spite of availability of huge funds, the DJB is not working in a professional manner, as observed by the YMC,” the Tribunal also said.
“Floodplains are not being made encroachment-free, affecting the riverine ecology. Awareness programmes are inadequate. Frothing frequently found in the absence of regulating composition of detergents, which find place in the river through sewage, for which action needs to be taken... E-flow needs to be managed by resolving inter-State issues administratively,” the Bench said.
