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New Delhi : Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Road Transport & Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal on December 27, 2018, laid the foundation of nine projects for Yamuna Rejuvenation under Namami Gange Programme in New Delhi.

A total of 11 projects have been taken up by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to conserve River Yamuna in Delhi. Most of the projects are for sewerage infrastructure. These projects under Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) III are located in three drainage zones namely Kondli, Rithala and Okhla in Delhi.

Addressing the gathering, Gadkari emphasized on the imperative of comprehensive and coordinated efforts to free the National Capital from water and air pollution. He said that pollution levels in Delhi is a cause for major concern and that a plan has been prepared to address this critical issue with the help of all stakeholders.

Gadkari said that the mandate of cleaning the tributaries of River Ganga was taken up with the launch of Namami Gange programme and with these projects the sewage water falling into River Yamuna, the most important tributary of Ganga, will be stopped. Mentioning the Lakhwar multi-purpose project between six states, Gadkari said that once that project is complete, the Aviralta of Yamuna in Delhi will improve. He added that trash skimmer is already deployed for Yamuna in Delhi for river surface cleaning.

He added that apart from Delhi, interventions for Yamuna cleaning are also being made in Haryana (Panipat and Sonepat) and Uttar Pradesh (Mathura-Vrindavan). He informed that a sewage treatment plant project of 180 Million Litres per Day (MLD) has also been approved in Agra. While extending all possible support for the development of Delhi, he urged all stakeholders to join hands and work on war footing to make Delhi free of water and air pollution. Reiterating that Ganga will be 70 to 80 percent clean by March 2019, Gadkari added that Ganga will be almost completely free of pollution by March 2020.

Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Science & Technology Harsh Vardhan said that Yamuna is 1,365 km long and the 22 km stretch in Delhi from Okhla barrage to Wazirabad is responsible for 80% of the pollution in the river. He also thanked Gadkari for expressways in and around Delhi which will help in reducing pollution in the National Capital.

Thanking Gadkari for his help, Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal said that he was happy that such an important step has been taken for Yamuna cleaning. He said that this programme is very important for the federal structure of the country and all should be on the same platform on development issues, according to a PIB release.

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