Amit Shah launches ₹8,941 crore projects for Yamuna purification

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah attended the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of projects worth ₹8,941 crore related to the restoration of the Yamuna in Delhi. Dignitaries including Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta were present on the occasion.

Shah stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had placed a vision before the Delhi Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs to purify the Yamuna. Under this scheme, more than 40 per cent success has been achieved so far. He said that the Centre and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh have prepared a time-bound roadmap for all three states and have set a target to clean the Yamuna by 2029. He also expressed confidence in purifying the Yamuna before May 2029.

During the ceremony, 10 projects were inaugurated and 33 projects were commenced. Shah stated that the schemes, started at a total cost of ₹8,941 crore, will result in millions of litres of purified water flowing into the Yamuna. Foundation stones were laid for the upgradation of existing STPs and the establishment of new STPs. Decentralized STP pumping stations have been established, and work to connect households to sewer lines has begun. Sewer rehabilitation, tapping, and drainage works are also being pushed forward.

Shah mentioned that prior to the governments of the last 30 years, permission was given to release Delhi's sewage into the Yamuna, and 2,000 tonnes of dung from dairies were being dumped into the river every day. He said that the joint roadmap prepared for Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh will clean the Yamuna.

Regarding Delhi's waste, Shah said that the Rekha Gupta government, with the help of the Central Government, has cleared 2.17 crore metric tonnes of waste and made 100 acres of land waste-free. The waste mountains at Okhla and Bhalswa have reduced by 30 to 40 metres, while the mountain at Ghazipur has come down by 10 to 15 metres. He stated that gardens will be created in place of the waste mountains within two years. He also mentioned that a three-year action plan has been prepared to provide sewerage connections to every household in Delhi.