Joint committee to be constituted for making Yamuna river clean: Nayab Saini

Chandigarh, Aug 20 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday said that a joint committee comprising senior officials of the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Haryana and Delhi governments will be constituted to make the Yamuna river clean on the lines of the Ganga river.

This committee will not only focus on the cleaning of the Yamuna but also work towards resolving other related issues.

According to an official statement here, Saini attended a meeting on "Inter-State Coordination Related to Yamuna Water Rejuvenation" chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister, C R Patil, in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Speaking after the meeting, Saini said that since the formation of the Delhi government under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, developmental plans are being prepared at a rapid pace, and their implementation is progressing continuously.

He said that work for cleaning the Yamuna river is being carried out on a war footing.

The process of treating sewage water from drains through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) before releasing it into the river has been significantly accelerated, Saini said.

He said that under the ongoing campaign, 16,000 metric tonnes of garbage had already been removed from the Yamuna.

He said that rejuvenation of the Yamuna is the top priority of both the Haryana and Delhi governments and assured that the public will soon witness a clean and rejuvenated river.

The chief minister said that "the BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) level of the drain falling into the Yamuna river from Palla village in Karnal district is 80, and necessary steps are being taken to further purify this water".

He said that there has been a significant improvement in the BOD level of Yamuna water at Okhla in Faridabad.

To further enhance water quality, 44 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have already been established, through which about 620 MLD of water is being treated every day. In addition, nine more STPs are being set up to clean another 510 MLD of water.

He said that issues related to the environment and water know no boundaries, and both states will have to work together to make the Yamuna completely clean.

Saini said that strict measures are being taken to ensure that polluted water is not discharged directly into the river, and necessary directions have already been issued to the officers in this regard.

He informed that the services of representatives and experts from both Delhi and Haryana will be utilised to monitor the Najafgarh lake and drain.

In addition, the BOD level of the polluted water being discharged from industries in Haryana will also be regularly checked, he said.

In the meeting, Union Secretary Devshree Mukherjee, Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra Kumar, Haryana Additional Chief Secretary Vineet Garg, Additional Chief Secretary, Irrigation Department, Haryana, Anurag Agarwal and senior officials of Irrigation and Environment Department were also present.

Meanwhile, Saini strongly condemned the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during a 'Jan Sunwai' programme at her camp office in Civil Lines in the national capital on Wednesday morning. PTI SUN RT RT