Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment and Forests, Shrimati Jayanthi Natarajan has said to the Parliament that as per the river water quality monitoring carried out by Central Pollution Control Board from time to time, the water quality in the stretch of the river Yamuna from Hathnikund to Palla is found to be within the prescribed limits in terms of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).
However, the stretch of the river in the vicinity of Delhi (downstream of Wazirabad barrage to upstream of Okhla barrage) and in parts of Uttar Pradesh does not meet the standards in terms of BOD. The water quality of Yamuna has not shown the desired improvement owing to a large gap between the demand and availability of sewage treatment capacity and lack of fresh water in the river.
The Ministry of Environment andForests is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the problem of pollution of river Yamuna by providing financial assistance to UP, Delhi and Haryana under Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) in a phased manner since 1993.
In addition, State Governments, apart from their own budgetary allocations, are also accessing financial assistance for creation of sewerage infrastructure, including setting up of sewage treatment plants, in various towns under other Central sector schemes like JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission) and UIDSSMT (Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns) of Ministry of Urban Development.
The Supreme Court in the matter of ‘And Quiet Flows the Maily Yamuna' WP(C) 725/1994 in its order dated 10.10.2012 directed Secretaries of Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Irrigation and Power, Chief Secretaries of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority, Commissioners of the respective Corporations and the Chief Executive Officer of Delhi Jal Board to file affidavits indicating details of the amount spent project wise on preventing and controlling pollution in river Yamuna under various programmes.
Funds for implementation of schemes under Yamuna Action Plan are released by this Ministry in a periodic manner to the concerned State implementing agencies based on progress of work and on receipt of Utilization Certificates as well as Physical and Financial Progress Reports from the States.
(Source PIB)
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