Delhi: Everyone wants a piece of Yamuna

NEW DELHI: If Delhi is serious about saving the Yamuna, it’s definitely not showing. The subject of several National Green Tribunal orders and national plans, the river continues to flow quietly through the heart of the capital, still dark and murky and emanating a pungent smell.

Key announcements made last year saw work begin on a number of sewage-treatment plants as part of the Yamuna Action Plan Phase-III, but the river faces an even bigger threat as encroachments continue to grow on the floodplain, now actively occupying the O-Zone (the river zone) where any kind of construction is strictly prohibited.
Wade your way through the narrow roads of Jaitpur and Madanpur Khadar in south Delhi and you will get a clear idea of the problem. It’s the tip of the iceberg, though, as numerous settlements can be seen stretching onto the river zone. Climb onto rooftops of four- and even five-storeyed houses and you will get a clear view of the river, barely 500 metres away.
On one side, a new colony seems to be mushrooming next to the river — now called Jaitpur Extension — and on the other, large-scale farming is taking place. A 2012 study by TERI had found high concentration of heavy metals, including nickel, manganese and lead, in vegetables cultivated along the Yamuna.
“The problem is not limited to Jaitpur Extension. A number of colonies are now slowly creeping into the river zone. Despite numerous court orders, very little is being done to curb this,” Manoj Misra, convener of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, said.
TOI visited several colonies and slum clusters along the Yamuna and the findings weren’t flattering. Rampant violations could be seen near DND, along Geeta Colony and near Okhla and Jamia Nagar too.
Misra said unauthorised colonies continued to grow and come closer than ever to the river. “Sonia Vihar and Rajiv Nagar in north Delhi are prime examples. A lot of encroachment is taking place along Wazirabad and Palla belt too. NGT has banned farming along Yamuna, but it continues unabated. Land sharks rake in the benefits as more and more houses keep coming up,” he said.
Residents, however, seem unaware of the problem. “We have always lived here and we cause no harm to the river. Farming provides us a livelihood,” Kanta Devi, a resident of Jaitpur Extension, said.
A monitoring committee appointed by NGT to rejuvenate the river stated in a recent report that encroachments in the form of pseudo-bridges, barrages and roads were a threat to Yamuna’s flow. The report also raised concerns over dumping of debris, groundwater extraction, illegal construction and dairy farming on the floodplain.
“Almost the entire floodplain, between the western embankment and the river channel, is under cultivation, using groundwater. It was also observed that there are a series of tubewells and ranney wells (numbering more than a hundred) owned by DJB at close intervals along the shanks,” the committee stated.
“Unorganised activity, such as dairy farming, is being carried out under the culvert below the Mayur Vihar stretch of DND. This was meant for floodwater’s spread and flow. Water on both sides of the flyway is infested with hyacinth and other aquatic/terrestrial weed. This is possibly because of local pollution from a large number of cattle as well as polluted water coming from the Hindon cut,” the report added.
The Delhi Development Authority, tasked with reclaiming encroached-upon land on the floodplain, claims to have taken “strong” measures over the last few years.
“There is a task force in place, with quick reaction teams, to check any illegal construction or encroachment in the O-Zone,” a senior DDA official said. “DDA has installed cameras on floodplain to check any illegal construction and our security personnel keep an eye on encroachments. In fact, in the last one month, we have recruited 200 more security men for the task force,” he said.
When told about encroachments along the river, the official claimed many people were taking advantage of the election code of conduct to squat on public land or floodplain. “We are not supposed to demolish any illegal construction during this period as it might lead to change in someone’s address. However, we will check if there is any fresh encroachment on the floodplain,” he said.