The
government''s drive to clean up the Yamuna and to tackle the Yamuna river’s pollution is a decade old. Though a
lot of money has been spent, the plan has not worked except on paper.
The bulk of the money spent so far has gone to Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, whereas the Delhi stretch has been the most polluting one. Sewage
treatment capacity has been created, but not in accordance with the pollution load. The sewage needs to be transported long distances for treatment, and the transportation of waste costs more than cleaning it up. And 60 per cent of the toilet complexes set up in Delhi remain unused because they have no water, are too expensive for people to use, or are poorly maintained.
Mainly on the directions of the Supreme Court, Delhi has spent much more on building sewage and waste treatment facilities. Sadly, the urgency of cleaning up the river has got lost in an endless process of administering to various court directives. The result is that the cost of construction has escalated, the sewage facilities created are under-utilised, and years later the river is dead.
The
government’s favourite strategy is to construct sewage treatment plants. The plants certainly have been built, the only problem is that nobody knows how much sewage the city generates, or how much waste is industrial and how much domestic. Another problem is that a large portion of the city’s existing sewer lines are either silted or settled. The drains have never been repaired, only the money has been spent. Now government wants the courts to extend the deadline.Yet another problem is that over 40-50 per cent of Delhi’s people live in unauthorised colonies and slums that are unconnected to the sewerage system. As these colonies are “illegal” (not official), the government is not willing to plan for them! The government has also found it convenient to blame the slumdwellers living along the river for the pollution.
The government’s action plan has had little or no impact and the quality of water has deteriorated. Why? Simply put, the population has grown and the generation of waste is more than the total capacity of sewage treatment. Besides, the existing sewage treatment infrastructure remains grossly under-utilised. The government’s current strategy is not working; therefore more of the same will just mean more money down the drain.