Assembly in Session: Manohar Lal Khattar govt blames Delhi for pollution in Agra canal

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, December 28

The Haryana Government today blamed Delhi for Agra canal pollution. The status of pollutants in terms of bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the canal at the Badarpur border in Faridabad district in 2022 ranged from 24 to 32 milligram (mg)/ltr. As the permissible level is 3 mg/ltr, this indicates that the river is getting badly polluted in the Delhi territory, states the government reply given during a discussion on the calling attention motion in the House.

Earlier, BJP MLA Jagdish Nayar, while raising the issue, said dirty water coming from Delhi had made the Agra canal polluted and was causing cancer, asthma, and allergies to people living in Faridabad and Palwal. Another BJP MLA Deepak Mangla called for carrying out a health survey in villages in this regard. “Even if you put your hand in the water, you will get afflicted with allergy,” he claimed. BJP MLA Praveen Dagar also complained that polluted water was causing cancer.

The Agra canal originates from the Yamuna at the Okhla barrage in Delhi territory. The canal flows parallel up to Sector 8, Faridabad, after which it flows in the eastern direction and reaches the border of Uttar Pradesh near Karman village. Yamuna enters Delhi from Haryana at Palla village and covers a stretch of 52 km from Palla to Jaitpur in the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD). The river re-enters Haryana in the Faridabad district, near Okhla head.

Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma said Yamuna receives “partially treated/untreated industrial/ sewage effluents through 62 drains in Delhi territory and as a result, the water gets badly polluted”. There are 62 drains in Delhi that have outfall into the Yamuna and drain No.3 of the Delhi area have outfall into the Agra Canal.

“The discharge of Okhla Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) has outfall in the Agra canal. Besides this, 45 MLD untreated effluents from Faridabad has outfall into the Agra canal,” he added. The quality of Yamuna is being monitored by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) at Wazirabad, Delhi border. “The bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the river ranges from 1.2 to 4.8 mg/ltr in 2022 against the permissible limit of 3 mg/ltr before entering Delhi. This indicates that Haryana is giving clean Yamuna water to Delhi,” he pointed out.

He said CM Manohar Lal Khattar had written a DO letter to Delhi CM regarding pollution in the Yamuna and Gurugram canal in February 2019.