Effect Of Yamuna Cleaning Will Be Visible In 6 Months: Delhi Lt Governor

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena today said that the effect of the 'Yamuna cleaning campaign' will be clearly visible in the next six months.

"I will fulfil the promises made to the people of Delhi as Lt Governor. Giving clean air, pollution-free Delhi city and clean Yamuna to the people of Delhi is my priority and I will fulfil my promise. The effect of the Yamuna cleaning campaign will be clearly visible in the next six months," Delhi LG said while speaking to ANI.

Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena on Thursday went near ISBT drain number 2 to speed up the Yamuna cleaning campaign and was accompanied by the Bharatiya Janata Party MP Gautam Gambhir.

However, when the Lieutenant Governor was asked why Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was not with him on this occasion, Vinay Kumar Saxena said that he didn't want to give any political reaction to this.

"I do not want to give any political reaction to the Delhi CM," he said.

Speaking about the progress of the campaign, the LG said, "The cleanliness of the Najafgarh drain has been improved a lot and its cleanliness will be completed by the month of July.

The main reason for the plight of Yamuna is eighteen (18) drains from Wazirabad to Okhla, through which a lot of dirty water and filth enters the Yamuna.

13 sub-drains of Najafgarh Drain have been completely trapped and 3.03 km of the trunk and peripheral sewer de-silted within one month of the initiative, the official statement from the Governor's office said on Wednesday.

"Since January 29, 2023, when the first meeting of the NGT-constituted high-level committee for Yamuna rejuvenation, headed by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena took place, 13 sub-drains of Najafgarh Drain have been completely trapped and 3.03 km of the trunk and peripheral sewer lines have been completely de-silted," the official statement from the LG office said.

The NGT-constituted high-level committee for Yamuna rejuvenation was held on Tuesday and was chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.

The 94-member company of the Territorial Army will be ensuring ground-level enforcement and monitoring of all untrapped drains and sub-drains that pollute the Yamuna.

"On the lines of the Najafgarh drain, the rest of the drains will be cleaned and the face of the Yamuna will change," VK Saxena added.

Saxena further noted that people living in an unauthorized manner on the banks of the Yamuna also spread filth in the Yamuna.

"People living in an unauthorized manner on the banks of the Yamuna also spread filth in the Yamuna, and there is a clear order from the NGT that no one can live in an unauthorized manner in the Yamuna flood range. We will implement the order of the NGT and gradually people will be removed from the Yamuna flood range area," he added.

He further said that Yamuna will be cleaner till the next Chhath pooja.

"Chhath pooja is still a long way but I can say that by then Yamuna will be a lot cleaner," Delhi LG said.

It may be noted that the NGT, in its order of January 9, 2023, had constituted a 'High Level Committee' to oversee the implementation of its orders with regards to cleaning the Yamuna and requested the Delhi LG VK Saxena to head the committee.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)