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Rs 1,800 crore spent, why is Yamuna still dirty, SC asks Centre, states
R Sedhuraman
Legal Correspondent

Haryana, UP, Delhi under fire

The court noted that Rs 1,062 crore had been spent by the Centre alone for fighting Yamuna pollution. While UP has pitched in with Rs 219 crore, Haryana’s share has been Rs 200 crore Various corporations and civic bodies had also contributed, taking the total expenditure to Rs 1,800 crore The report filed by the Central Pollution Control Board showed that the level of pollution had considerably gone up all along the course of the river since March this year

New Delhi, October 10
The Supreme Court today took the Centre, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi to task for the worsening water quality of the Yamuna despite the fact that over Rs 1,800 crore had been spent on combating pollution so far

“It is unfortunate that huge amount of public finds is spent without showing any improvement in water quality” of the river, a Bench comprising Justices Swatanter Kumar and Madan Lokur remarked in its order.

The Bench noted that Rs 1,062 crore had been spent by the Centre alone, followed by Rs 219 crore by Uttar Pradesh and over Rs 200 crore by Haryana. Besides this, various corporations and civic bodies of the Centre and the states had also pitched in with considerable effort, taking the total expenditure to Rs 1,800 crore.

But the report filed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the level of pollution had considerably gone up all along the course of the river since March this year. For instance, the coliform content was measured at 17 billion per 100 ml at Delhi and Agra, against the permissible limit of 5,000, the court pointed out.

Even at Hathnikund, located upstream, coliform presence had gone up from 2,000 in March 2012 to 20,000 in August 2012. At Panipat, it was measured at 13,000 in March and at 3.8 lakh in August. The numbers for Sonepat stood at 8,000 and 20,000.

The Bench directed the Chief Secretaries of the three states and the Secretary of the Union Urban Development Ministry in consultation with other ministries concerned to file detailed reports on the works undertaken so far from Hathnikund to Agra, the number of sewers — be it industrial, domestic or other waste — joining the river and the treatment plants installed and functional. The heads of the civic bodies concerned such as the Delhi Jal Board would also have to file similar reports.

The SC asked these authorities to be present in the court at the next hearing on October 30 if they failed to comply with the order.

The Centre and the states should also give the names of their representatives for inclusion in an expert commit to be constituted for suggesting a comprehensive plan for prevention and control of Yamuna pollution.

Pointing out that the SC was seized of the issue since 1994, the Bench said it wanted to ensure that some concrete results were produced without any further delay.

Haryana’s Additional Advocate General Manjit Singh Dalal informed the Bench that the state incurred an expenditure of Rs 247.82 crore under phase one of theYamuna Action Plan, of which the Centre paid 50 per cent.