In the run-up to the Delhi election, politics over the river Yamuna, foaming with pollutants, has taken centre-stage with Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging poisonous levels of ammonia in water from Haryana and the BJP hitting back.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has threatened to sue the former Delhi chief minister for defamation if he doesn't apologise.
Before the "ammonia" row erupted, the BJP's Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, a former MP contesting from the New Delhi constituency, had been targeting Arvind Kejriwal over the polluted Yamuna by immersing a cut-out of the AAP chief in it. Not the way to protest, perhaps, given that he added to the water pollution.
The once great river Yamuna now resembles a giant sewage canal.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah's promise to develop the Yamuna Riverfront on the lines of the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad has regained interest.
The proposal for developing the Yamuna riverfront on the lines of the Sabarmati Riverfront first came up when Prime Minister Narendra Modi took Chinese President Xi Jinping for a stroll along the Sabarmati in September 2014. Later, PM Modi took off on a seaplane, showcasing the riverfront development days before the 2017 Gujarat polls.
Is a similar makeover possible for the Yamuna?
Making of Sabarmati Riverfront
Sabarmati is linked to Ahmedabad's rich history and has been its lifeline for ages. At one point, Sabarmati, like the Yamuna, was highly contaminated with sewage-laden stormwater outlets and the dumping of industrial waste, which posed major health, ecological and environmental hazards. The river was inaccessible to most people. That's when the proposal to develop a portion of the Sabarmati Riverfront with a mix of commercial, recreational and residential development along both the banks began gaining momentum.
Since the 1960s, there were suggestions from urban experts to develop the riverfront. Yet it was in 1997 that comprehensive planning was undertaken by the AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) for the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Project, which could finally take off in February 2004. Old-timers in the city vouch for the efficient collaboration between the politicians, bureaucrats and private-sector representatives in executing the riverfront project.
M Thennarasan, Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner, says the stretch of 11.5-km on both sides of the riverbank has been completed while work on 5 km is in progress. The remaining 20 km is under planning. Today, the Sabarmati riverfront is a beautiful part of Ahmedabad, with large public spaces that are a big draw.
But downstream, the Sabarmati waters continue to be highly polluted (near Vasna) because of its unique problem. Sabarmati is a seasonal river, coming alive only during the monsoon. However, in something of a marvel, water from the Narmada River was released into the Sabarmati River through the Sardar Sarovar dam in 2002. The Gujarat government constructed check-dams to maintain water levels in the riverfront by using the Narmada Canal.
Still, cleaning the river Sabarmati is a challenge because it is not a perennial river, and can only be treated like a lake. Authorities have taken steps to rejuvenate the water and increase the oxygen levels. However, there is still a long way to go for the water quality to improve substantially throughout the river stretch.
Politics over Yamuna
When it comes to cleaning and rejuvenation of the river Yamuna, three Yamuna Action Plans were developed and over Rs 8,500 crore have been spent since 1993. Still, the 22-km stretch of the river that passes through Delhi is choked and dying. Successive governments of BJP, Congress and AAP in Delhi have used these funds to carry out works like repairing sewers, wastewater treatment plants and consultancy services for the Yamuna Action Plan. But without results.
Politics over Yamuna pollution has peaked ahead of voting in Delhi on February 5.
AAP has often claimed that pollution in the Yamuna is a gift to Delhi from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, both BJP-ruled. Both states discharge pollutants into the river and Haryana doesn't release enough fresh water into the Yamuna for it to be rejuvenated, AAP alleges.
The fact is Yamuna waters are over-utilised by Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi - for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes. This leaves the river with little freshwater in its Delhi stretch. Add to that the weight of untreated industrial effluent and sewage from all of Delhi. Inevitably, no flora or fauna can survive in this muck of a river.
A Sabarmati riverfront-style blueprint for river Yamuna is not an easy idea to implement. Each river and city are unique. The Yamuna and Delhi have their own issues - like flooding during monsoons and low water levels during summers. Cleaning the river, removing encroachments from the floodplains and redeveloping the area ecologically are daunting tasks but can be handled with the help of a team of experts drawn from government, industry and independent consultants.
Interestingly, the Purvanchalis, who mostly perform the Chhath Puja in the river, have a permanent ghat in the Sabarmati riverfront, set up by the Gujarat government. In contrast, those performing Chhath puja in Delhi have been wading into toxic foam in the Yamuna.
Sadly, the outrage over polluted Yamuna has also gone on predictable lines over the years. Soon after election results, the noise dies down - until the next political showdown.
(The author is Contributing Editor, NDTV)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
