Yamuna in Delhi carries drains not water: SC

"It is a sorry state of affairs," the Supreme Court remarked today over failure of the project to clean Yamuna despite over Rs.12,000 crore being spent on it and suggested that the routing drainages of NCR region to a place outside Delhi be explored to stop release of waste in the river.

Observing that Yamuna in Delhi carries not water but drains, a bench of justices Swatanter Kumar and Madan B Lokur rapped the government authorities for not being able to clean the river despite spending thousands of crore of common man's money.

"Can we take these drains 30-40 Km outside Delhi to get it recycled by removing solid waste. It should be routed in a closed drain to a place where government gets sufficient land for the project," the bench said.

Around Rs 12,000 crore has so far been spent by all the stakeholders for cleaning the river.

The bench also said that there is a lack of co-ordination and co-operation among various government departments involved in the Yamuna cleaning project.

"It is a sorry state of affairs and Yamuna cannot be cleaned with such attitude," the bench remarked when the counsel appearing for Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) made allegations against each other.

"There is lack of cooperation among public authorities and the situation of Yamuna has become worse," the bench said and called for assistance from Directors of IIT Delhi and Roorkee for the project.

The apex court asked the Directors to be personally present on the next date of hearing on Tuesday to assist the court for proper implementation of the project.

It also asked the authorities to be concerned not only about the quality of water but also about the quantity of water flowing in the river.

The bench had earlier asked the CPCB and DJB to conduct a joint inspection on rising pollution level of the river in the national capital.

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