NEW DELHI: Delhi Jal Board (DJB) wants the Delhi government to raise the issue of release of pollutants by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh into the Yamuna at the next north zone council (NZC) meeting scheduled to take place in Amritsar on September 26.
Officials said industrial effluents from Haryana’s Sonepat, Panipat and Rohtak districts and UP‘s Ghaziabad and Noida districts continue to pollute the Yamuna. The pollutants from Haryana also contaminate raw water collected in the Wazirabad pond for various water treatment plants, often affecting the supply of potable water.
With representatives of all states and Union territories of north India assembling in Amritsar next week for the NZC meeting chaired by Union minister Amit Shah, officials said it would be the right time to discuss Delhi’s water woes.
The North Zone Council comprises Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. LG VK Saxena and a minister from CM Arvind Kejriwal’s cabinet are likely to attend the meeting.
A senior official said Haryana’s drains number 2 and 6 carry toxic industrial pollutants, which fall into the Yamuna. Due to frequent discharge of industrial waste, the level of ammonia in raw water rises, forcing the DJB to shut down water treatment plants till pollutants are washed away from the Wazirabad pond.
“Delhi has been raising this issue at various forums but it has received no positive response so far. Recently, ammonia touched the highest level of 10.8 mg/L at Wazirabad pond, which shows high contamination from industrial effluents,” said an official.
Sources said former deputy CM Manish Sisodia had raised the issue in a meeting in Jaipur last year and Shah had given assurance to form a committee under the chairmanship of home secretary Ajay Bhalla to resolve the issue, but nothing concrete had taken place.
Officials said that illegal sand mining in the Yamuna riverbed between Hathnikund in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, 200 km upstream, and the Delhi border is another issue that concerns authorities.
“Sand mining makes Delhi prone to floods. The central government has filed an affidavit with the National Green Tribunal on the issue,” said an official. Another senior official said that apart from the ITO barrage, there are several other irrigation canals in the capital that are controlled by the Haryana government and Delhi should take them over.
The population of Delhi has increased from 1.1 crore in 1994 to 2.1 crore in 2022, but its water allocation has remained the same. Officials said the issue should be discussed at the council meeting.
“Delhi has been requesting an increase in allocation to fulfil its drinking water needs, while other states are utilising this water for agriculture and industrial needs, where recycled water can be used,” said an official.
Officials said industrial effluents from Haryana’s Sonepat, Panipat and Rohtak districts and UP‘s Ghaziabad and Noida districts continue to pollute the Yamuna. The pollutants from Haryana also contaminate raw water collected in the Wazirabad pond for various water treatment plants, often affecting the supply of potable water.
With representatives of all states and Union territories of north India assembling in Amritsar next week for the NZC meeting chaired by Union minister Amit Shah, officials said it would be the right time to discuss Delhi’s water woes.
The North Zone Council comprises Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Delhi, Chandigarh, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. LG VK Saxena and a minister from CM Arvind Kejriwal’s cabinet are likely to attend the meeting.
A senior official said Haryana’s drains number 2 and 6 carry toxic industrial pollutants, which fall into the Yamuna. Due to frequent discharge of industrial waste, the level of ammonia in raw water rises, forcing the DJB to shut down water treatment plants till pollutants are washed away from the Wazirabad pond.
“Delhi has been raising this issue at various forums but it has received no positive response so far. Recently, ammonia touched the highest level of 10.8 mg/L at Wazirabad pond, which shows high contamination from industrial effluents,” said an official.
Sources said former deputy CM Manish Sisodia had raised the issue in a meeting in Jaipur last year and Shah had given assurance to form a committee under the chairmanship of home secretary Ajay Bhalla to resolve the issue, but nothing concrete had taken place.
Officials said that illegal sand mining in the Yamuna riverbed between Hathnikund in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, 200 km upstream, and the Delhi border is another issue that concerns authorities.
“Sand mining makes Delhi prone to floods. The central government has filed an affidavit with the National Green Tribunal on the issue,” said an official. Another senior official said that apart from the ITO barrage, there are several other irrigation canals in the capital that are controlled by the Haryana government and Delhi should take them over.
The population of Delhi has increased from 1.1 crore in 1994 to 2.1 crore in 2022, but its water allocation has remained the same. Officials said the issue should be discussed at the council meeting.
“Delhi has been requesting an increase in allocation to fulfil its drinking water needs, while other states are utilising this water for agriculture and industrial needs, where recycled water can be used,” said an official.
