CPCB instructs DJB to check on waste disposal to keep Yamuna clean

DELHI: In a bid to cleanse the Yamuna river in the National Capital Region, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to set up a vigilance system to check on waste disposal in the river. The CPCB has also asked DJB to levy heavy penalties on defaulters who indulge in illegal waste disposal. The CPCB also asked for a detailed action plan from the DJB on the matter by May 20.

The CPCB, in its notice to the CEO of the DJB earlier this month, said that an inspection by a CPCB team found scattered habitations between Palla to Wazirabad on the flood plain of Yamuna. The team also found possibility of discharge of waste water of said habitations to the river through temporary arrangements (tankers). Discharge of untreated waste water from the these colonies disposing off into river Yamuna makes water unfit to meet the primary water quality criteria – bathing quality, the report detailed.

On the team’s probe, tankers were found discharging waste water directly into the river. Following the observations, the CPCB instructed DJB to plan and implement sewage management of the scattered colonies between Palla to Wazirabad.