AAP cabinet minister Kapil Mishra takes stock of polluted Yamuna

NEW DELHI: Much before the Union government finalises its idea of setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for cleaning the Yamuna River, the Delhi government has begun work on a time-bound action plan to depollute it in three years. On Wednesday, AAP cabinet minister Kapil Mishra toured over 21 km of the river's stretch with officials to conduct a fact finding survey on site.

"The water in River Yamuna is currently being polluted by 21 major drains and hundreds of smaller drains where untreated sewage and effluents are flowing without any control. The Najafgarh drain, which is the biggest polluter, needs immediate cleaning and our team at Delhi Jal Board has already started drafting a plan to clean this river," said Mishra, who is overseeing the effort as Delhi Jal Board Chief, after the tour.

Apart from the technical details, Mishra added a personal touch to the clean-up effort when he said, "I make a personal commitment today: I will bathe in the River Yamuna in 36 months." But the promise of cleaning up Yamuna within three years, in the absence of a formal arrangement with Centre, was not made as a rhetorical point. According to Roshan Shanker, advisor to Delhi government, the three year period mentioned is based on a detailed "time bound plan" which has been firmed up. "Certainly, all engineering works can be done in three years. Say, for instance, those related with drains. Work is being done as per a detailed plan," Shankar told ET.

He also explained that, within Delhi's limits, it is Yamuna's basin that's heavily polluted and not so much the surface water. Also, there are specific norms put in place by NGT to clean up basins, which make the job of cleaning not very easy. The plan addresses this issue, too.