‘Changed circumstances’ in Delhi power corridors may see ‘better implementation’: SC on Yamuna pollution

An SC bench presided by the then Chief Justice of India S A Bobde had taken suo motu cognizance of the matter while hearing a plea by the Delhi Jal Board, which alleged that Haryana was dumping untreated discharge in the Yamuna, leading to a spike in ammonia levels.

On Tuesday, Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, who is the amicus curiae in the case, flagged the differences between Haryana and Delhi over the sharing of Yamuna waters and its pollution.

Justice Gavai then referred to the change of government in the Capital, where the BJP unseated the AAP in the recent Assembly elections. “But now, with the change of government, all disputes might get resolved. In these changed circumstances, better implementation may be possible,” he said.

Haryana also has a BJP government.

The bench noted that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had stopped monitoring the issue of Yamuna pollution after the court took cognizance of the matter, and sought to know if any other related case was pending in the SC.

The pollution of Yamuna became a key issue in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had entered into a war of words over the former’s allegations that Haryana was “poisoning” Yamuna.

Following the BJP’s victory, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also raised the issue. “Alongside development, the mandate of Delhi is also for virasat (heritage). The Yamuna is a centre of our faith… But these people made the Yamuna’s condition pathetic… I have taken a vow that we will make Yamuna ji the identity of Delhi,” he had said.

In 2021, while hearing a Delhi Jal Board plea alleging that Haryana was dumping untreated discharge in the Yamuna, an SC bench presided by then CJI Bobde had said: “We find that in addition to the issue raised by present petition, it will be appropriate to take suo motu cognizance with regard to the issue of contamination of rivers by sewage effluents and ensure that the mandate is implemented by municipalities as far as discharge of sewage into rivers is concerned.”

“We deem it appropriate at this stage to start with the issue of contamination of river Yamuna,” the court had said, issuing notice to the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh; Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

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