New Delhi: Conceding that the buck stops with him, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that his government will clean the Yamuna river by 2025.
Addressing the mediapersons, Kejriwal said that his government has chalked out a six-point action plan to clean the river and the mission will be accomplished by February 2025. He said, "It took 70 years for the waste to accumulate and it cannot be cleaned within a day." "I had promised the people in these Delhi polls that Yamuna will be cleaned by the next polls. Work has been started on war-footing and I am personally monitering it," he said, adding that he hopes to take a dip in the river ahead of the next Assembly elections.
Explaining the six-point plan, the chief minister said that the first task would be to work on sewer treatment on a massive scale. New treatment plants are being installed, the capacity of the older ones are being increased along with changing their technology.
Secondly, some dirty drains will be cleaned in the spot itself while some will be divert towards STP. Thirdly, cleaning of industrial waste is just on papers, he said. They are just dumped in the drain. This will be brought under control, Kejriwal assured.
Fourth, the sewage from the slum areas also flow away into the drain. The dirt from the public facility centre will be attached to the sewer. Fifth, a sewer line connection will be installed up to every home, he said, adding that the final task would be desilting and rehabilitation of sewers.
He highlighted the efforts of the Delhi government on cleaning the drain and said new sewer treatment plants are being constructed at many places, including Okhla and Rithala.
The Delhi Chief Minister further said that the work of cleaning Najafgarh drain, Ghazipur drain has already been started. He said that there will be a crackdown on industries with regards to the filth and waste. Industrial waste will be treated and industries that do not treat waste properly will be shut down.