The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) informed the National Green Tribunal on Tuesday that setting up of Water Front Management Authority, for cleaning of river Yamuna, is not possible as it requires legislative provision.
It told a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel that the Monitoring Committee has rightly pointed that INTACH and DDA are not equipped to do enforcement work and they have no regulatory authority and therefore help from municipal corporations and the police is very essential.
Also read | NGT grappled with environmental issues in 2019
“The suggestion of Yamuna Monitoring Committee (YMC) is for setting up of Water Front Management Authority under the aegis of DDA. It is submitted that DDA already is an Authority constituted through a separate Act. Therefore, constituting another Authority under the aegis of DDA may not be possible legally as the constitution of the Authority may again require legislative provision,” the DDA said in its report, filed through advocate Kush Sharma.
It said there are several stakeholders involved in management of river front namely Delhi Jal Board, municipal corporations, police and Irrigation and Flood Control Department, besides the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
“Several experts are also involved from time to time like INTACH. These organisations have defined powers under various Acts and have their defined Rules. These organisations can access funds from their own budgets. While coordination between all these agencies is of utmost important, but any Society or other body may not be able to exercise the powers of these organisations nor may be able to access funds from the available budgets or these organisations/departments,” it said.
DDA further said that the function of police is effective control on encroachment and unauthorised construction in the area.
“Land in Delhi is with government of India and DDA is the agency authorised to manage land parcels in Delhi. Therefore, the land owned by DDA along the river front cannot be transferred to any other agency,” DDA said.
The NGT reserved its order on the issue after going through the report.
The tribunal had earlier sought response from the DDA on whether to set up a Work Front Management Authority on the cleaning of the Yamuna river after Yamuna Monitoring Committee’s (YMC) suggesed on setting up of the Work Front Management Authority under the authority.
In its report, the YMC suggested that in view of lapse of time and new challenges, a new mechanism may need to be developed under the aegis of DDA to be assisted in appropriate manner to deal with all the relevant issues relating to the river front.
Also read | NGT seeks information on solid waste management and air pollution in States, UTs
The tribunal had directed the Haryana government to take remedial action regarding untreated discharge of sewage into river Yamuna at Faridabad, and directed the state Chief Secretary to file a report in this regard.
The NGT had on July 26, 2018 formed a monitoring committee on the cleaning of Yamuna.
The bench had appointed retired expert member B.S. Sajwan and former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra as members of the committee.
The NGT had earlier rapped the Delhi Jal Board over cleaning of the Yamuna and had said there has been no “meaningful progress” on the ground in the last three years.
It had said pollution in the Yamuna was of serious concern as it was highly contaminated with industrial effluents and sewage.
