'Commitment required to clean Yamuna'

Hindu, 19^th August 2002

NEW DELHI AUG. 18. Asserting that merely building infrastructure was not enough, top officials of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have said a strong commitment from the people and the Government was required for the success of the Yamuna Action Plan, which is aimed at reducing pollution in the river.

The Japanese bank has provided a financial support of nearly Rs. 700 crores under the Yamuna Action Plan Phase-I, a major portion of which has been given to Delhi as it alone contributes around 3,296 MLD (million litres per day) of sewage through drains emptying into the river. The 22 km stretch between the Wazirabad barrage and the Okhla barrage is considered to be most critical in this regard.

With the financial assistance, a massive infrastructure - full of lopsided planning - has come up in Delhi, which consists of more than 1,000 community toilet complexes, four mini sewage treatment plants (STPs) and 10 micro STPs in slum clusters and the rehabilitation colonies of the Capital. Besides Delhi, the Action Plan covered 14 other towns in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh located on the banks of the river.

``Our main purpose is to improve the water quality of Yamuna which has become one of the most polluted rivers. Under this Plan, we have covered only 15 cities. This is not enough to make the river clean and free of pollution. The Indian Government has to do a lot of work for this purpose. We have only helped them build the infrastructure. But the commitment for making it a success has to come from the people and the Government,'' the JBIC chief representative here, Toru Nomura, told The Hindu.

A high-level JBIC team was recently in the Capital to assess the success of Phase-I and discuss with officials here the possibility of funding the Yamuna Action Plan-II.

Mr. Nomura said the people here, in particularly those living along the banks of the Yamuna, should realise that it is a sacred river and not a garbage ground or a dustbin to throw waste. "People have to change their mindset with regard to the Yamuna. By merely completing the physical component, one should not think that the job is over. We cannot achieve our goal this way. It now all depends on how the physical component is put to maximum use. How these community toilet complexes are used in the slum clusters and how they are maintained,'' he said.

The JBIC official appreciated the decision to involve non-governmental organisations in maintenance and operation of the community toilet complexes and other infrastructure constructed under the Yamuna Action Plan. "People's involvement in such a large project is very essential,'' he said. Commenting on the role of JBIC, Mr. Nomura said it was merely a facilitator for the completion of the Yamuna Action Plan. "The real effort has to be done by the people and the Government here,'' he said.

Once the physical component of the plan is over, it is time to launch a massive awareness campaign among people here so that they can change some of their habits which tend to become a major source of polluting the river, Mr. Nomuro said.

The Delhi Government and the Slum Department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi have already planned a massive awareness campaign.