The waters of the Yamuna have become the focal point of politics in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly election on February 5 with everyone from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal indulging in war of words and actions, but experts point to deep underlying causes for pollution in the Yamuna in particular and rivers of India in general.
Kejriwal went to the Election Commission's office on Friday and furnished his reply to the poll body over its notice to him on his "poison mixed" in Yamuna water remark. Before that, he alleged that the poll body was "shooting the messenger" by targeting the AAP for raising its voice. He said that it was a political conspiracy to force half of Delhi to thirst because of "poisonous" water having high ammonia to defame the AAP during the elections.
The Haryana CM publicly “drank” water from the Yamuna to prove his state was not “poisoning” the river. Other BJP leaders like Amit Shah have also taunted Kejriwal as well as the Congress. And Rahul Gandhi on Thursday released a video to say all river cleaning processes were just fronts to siphon off money.
Experts say all of the parties are highlighting only parts of the problem for political posturing.
"Yamuna water coming from Haryana is laced with pollutants such as ammonia. The issue has been discussed in the high court and the Supreme Court too. Haryana is supposed to send clean water. In fact, pollutants come from Uttar Pradesh too," Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People told The Telegraph Online.
Have any of the political parties put the required effort to clean the Yamuna? Thakkar replied in the negative.
"BJP, Congress or AAP, no one has a good track record,” he said. “They are not addressing the problem. In India most rivers are interstate and so these mismanagement of rivers and blame game for competitive populism comes up during polls. But the Centre is the biggest culprit. They have spent thousands of crores on the Ganga but look at the condition.”
Water is a state subject in India, and not on the concurrent list.
In a column in The Indian Express, former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra wrote: “During the period 2018 to 2021, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) set up the Yamuna Monitoring Committee (YMC) to monitor the abatement of pollution in the river. Five reports were given to the NGT, which pinpointed the roles and responsibilities of 16 stakeholders who contribute substantially to pollution. During the life of the committee, each of the stakeholders — which included the Delhi Jal Board, Delhi Development Authority, and the governments of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — committed to a slew of measures. These have not been undertaken.”
What will it take to make water in the Yamuna fit to drink?
“Actually, river water is not fit to drink in most countries,” Aditi Mukherji, water expert and author with the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change, told The Telegraph Online when asked the question.
The problem of pollution of the Yamuna, she underlined, is an old problem that has got worse in recent years as pollutants increased and flows decreased.
There is not enough water to dilute pollutants, she said.
So, are dams to blame for the decreased flow of water in the Yamuna? “I would think it’s intensive groundwater use upstream, and also increased urbanisation and concretisation means less recharge of groundwater,” Mukherji said.
“Also climate change — more variable rainfall, affecting recharge. And increased groundwater use everywhere. Surface water and groundwater are connected. It’s the same water. If you use more groundwater, then the base flow of rivers declines.
“Wanting to drink untreated river water is not a realistic goal,” she added. "Making it fit for swimming, recreation, biodiversity and all other uses (except drinking water which has the highest quality standards) is the desirable goal."
What would it take to make the water of the Yamuna fit for all other uses except drinking?
“First, stop all toxic effluent flows from polluting industries,” Mukherji said. “Industries need to treat their water before discharging. Then increase flow into the river, which is harder due to low base flow and erratic rainfall. Third, a buffer of natural vegetation around Yamuna that soaks up the pollutants and filters water. Fourth, public awareness and civil society demand.
She added: “Fifth, and most importantly, political will.”
That ties in neatly with Chandra’s column's headline: “For the Yamuna to flow — consensus is needed, not political slugfests.”