Indian Express 18.11.2009
Delhi awaits Centre’s nod for cleaning Yamuna
The Delhi government is awaiting the Centre's nod for a proposal to built interceptor channels besides the Yamuna river to prevent flow of polluted water into it, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said on Wednesday.
Engineers India Ltd has conducted a study for the Yamuna channelisation project, under which three big canals with interceptors will be used so that sewage water does not flow into the river," she told a national seminar on 'Water Equipment and Management', organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi.
"We are hoping for a quick decision from the Centre so that the project can be started by next year. Then we can make the Yamuna cleaner," the Chief Minister said.
She later told reporters that the government was awaiting the Centre's nod for the channelisation project. She also said, "We need efficacy in water management and we do not want to waste money like in YAP (Yamuna Action Plan)."
The Chief Minister also said steps will be taken to improve the water distribution system.
Addressing the seminar, she said the government has restored some 100 water bodies but there is need to do more.
Several water bodies has been encroached upon, she said. Justifying the proposed hike in water charges, she said the cost of water in Delhi is one of the lowest in the country.
