Election for the Delhi Legislative Assembly
have concluded and there is a new party in power.
This is the dance of democracy, but this time
there was one key difference. When pollsters asked
people why they voted against the party in power, the
answers threw up issues that we know matter but do
not make it to the list. Pollution in the river Yamuna—
the 22 km stretch that passes through Delhi—was on
top; then came toxic air pollution and garbage. Till
now, environmental issues have made it to the manifes-
tos of parties, but this time voters have spoken and
hopefully this will make a difference.
As the new government gets down to the business of
cleaning the Yamuna it must be clear on a few things.
One, it is not that the last state government or even the
government before the last were not serious about
cleaning the Yamuna. All governments have had the
intention to clean the river that has become a sewage
canal. Huge funds have been spent—both by the Union
and state governments. According to an official
estimate, `6,500 crore were spent in the four years
between 2017 and 2021. This is a massive amount. But
it may even be an underestimation, since the funds to
clean the river come from different sources and account
heads. So, it is not about commitment or funds.
Two, there is a plan for cleaning the river and
because this is about Delhi, just about every court from the apex court to National Green Tribunal—has
active cases to review this action plan. Every month, a
report is prepared diligently by the state government;
every month it is filed in court. So it should not be
assumed, as the new government takes charge, that
nothing has been done or that nobody cared. That
rhetoric is good for the pre-election time when parties
need to score points. But it is not conducive for the
critical and considered steps that are needed now.
What needs to be deliberated is that despite this
money, the attention and the action plan, nothing has
visibly improved in the state of the river. The monthly
reports filed by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee
show that in most months, the river’s water quality, as
it enters the city at Palla or where it draws its water
from at Wazirabad, is fairly good. But within a few kilo-
metres of its 22 km journey through Delhi, it dies. By
the time water quality is checked at the next monitor-
ing point of Interstate Bus Terminal (isbt), the dis-
solved oxygen has gone from the mandated standard of
5 mg/litre to 0; and faecal coliform counts have risen
many times. It is important to note that lack of oxygen
means that the water has no life. So, we can say the
river in Delhi is dead, even if it has not been officially
yamuna in danger