DJB to move High Court over Yamuna pollution due to Haryana

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 28

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has decided to move the High Court (HC) over discharge of industrial waste and high level of pollutants into Yamuna river in Haryana affecting the river’s raw water quality in the national capital.

The declining water quality has forced the Delhi government to reduce its water production by 30 per cent at its water plants in the capital after ammonia level rose at Wazirabad pond again since January 25.

The government, in a statement, said this has been a perpetual problem and the residents of Delhi are continuously suffering. DJB has decided to move to the HC to get a solution to this, it stated.

The present ammonia level in the Yamuna is 02.2 parts per million (ppm) due to which water production has been curtailed at different water plants of Delhi— Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla, it stated.

“The raw water quality has deteriorated at Wazirabad pond since Friday 25.01.2019 again. Further, rationalisation of drinking water has been done at other plants. This is due to the discharge of industrial waste and high level of pollutants being discharged in Yamuna in Haryana,” it said.

The DJB in its petition is going to state about the problem of ammonia level in the polluted water in the Wazirabad pond seeking urgent directions from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the other respondents to stop this pollution.

According to the Delhi government, the river water entering Delhi has been so heavily polluted for the last few days that it is currently not in a position of being treated at the city’s Wazirabad reservoir, which is the command area for the Central Delhi and New Delhi Municipal Council areas.

“This pollution is directly affecting the drinking water supply inside the territory of Delhi. The central government, which also houses many of its offices in the NDMC area as also its residential complexes, is also requested to direct Haryana to stop the pollution forthwith in the water, which is to be used by Delhi for drinking water supply,” it noted.

The Delhi government said the Irrigation Department of Haryana controls the sources, including canals and channel DD-8, from which the water comes into the Yamuna here. It pointed out that illegal bunds have been recently created in the river channel DD-8 and the same cannot be created without the consent or direction of Haryana government.

Channel DD-8 also flows in the national capital, through which any additional water can be supplied to Delhi for diluting the pollution if it cannot be controlled so that the water supplied in the river course can be made treatable for drinking at Wazirabad.

On the issue, the DJB had written to the Upper Yamuna River Board of the Union Ministry of Water Resources, and CPCB but no relief has been forthcoming, going by the Aam Aadmi Party government.