Rekha Gupta govt sets 3-year Yamuna cleanup target

NEW DELHI: Making the cleaning of the Yamuna one of its top priorities, Delhi govt is likely to collaborate with the Territorial Army to achieve the target within three years.
Senior Delhi govt officials said CM Rekha Gupta might formally write to the chief of the Territorial Army seeking his help to form a task force to clean the highly polluted waterbody in the city and make it worth taking a dip within the given time frame.

The task force, said the officials, will be dedicated to protecting the Yamuna floodplain, preventing encroachments, stopping illegal dumping of debris and waste, and ensuring strict enforcement of environmental regulations.
Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma recently held a meeting with the Territorial Army head, who gave in-principle approval to the suggestion and sought a communication from the CM to formalise the arrangement, the officials added.
Confirming the development, Verma said the initiative was a part of PM Narendra Modi's "guarantee" to provide a clean and sustainable environment for Delhi's citizens.
"For years, illegal encroachments and waste dumping choked the Yamuna. Now, with the help of the Territorial Army, we will ensure that no further damage is done to this sacred river. The double-engine govt of Delhi is committed to restoring the Yamuna and protecting its floodplain," he added.
The deployment of the Territorial Army in the task force will be completely funded by Delhi govt. The personnel will be responsible for regular patrolling, preventing unauthorised construction, and ensuring that waste and construction debris are not dumped along the riverbanks.
The minister said that the task force would be a game-changer in restoring the river's ecological balance and preventing pollution.
In 2023, when LG VK Saxena headed a high-level committee on cleaning the Yamuna, a company of the Territorial Army was deployed to ensure ground-level enforcement and monitoring of all untrapped drains and sub-drains that pollute the river. It was, however, withdrawn later.
In its manifesto for the assembly polls in Feb, BJP promised to clean and rejuvenate the Yamuna. It stated that a ‘Yamuna Kosh' would be set up to revitalise the river to undertake full treatment of wastewater from drains falling into the Yamuna.
The manifesto also stated that BJP govt would collaborate with central govt to develop the Yamuna riverfront, on the lines of the Sabarmati riverfront, and promote biodiversity along the riverbanks by creating green corridors, wetlands, and riverbank buffer zones.