India: National Green Tribunal asks 6 provinces to submit report

By APD writer Rishika Chauhan

**NEW DELHI, August 9 (APD) ** - The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked six provinces to submit a status report on the pollution levels in the Yamuna river, on Tuesday.

Moreover, it instructed the provincial and central pollution control boards to draft a common plan of action to check pollution in Yamuna river and its tributaries.

Previously NGT was monitoring the pollution levels in the river only in Delhi. However the Supreme Court has asked the NGT to supervise the health of the river and all its tributaries throughout the country.

The river Yamuna is about 1,376 kilometers and passes through many provinces. Though only 2% of the river is in Delhi, the capital is responsible for 70% of the pollution.

The NGT also directed the Delhi Water Board to continue its projects on revitalization of the river. According to a report published in the Hindustan Times, the first phase of the project aims to bring down pollution in the Najafgarh area and Delhi Gate drains, ‘which contribute the maximum pollution’. The second phase would concentrate on the Shahdara, Barapullah and other smaller drains.

At least 14 sewage treatment plants would be commissioned by May 2019 in the first phase, which would treat about 67% of the river pollution.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)