Ban on farming along Yamuna: Farmers approach green court

A farmers’ body on Wednesday approached the National Green Tribunal against the demolition drive on their farms carried out by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in pursuance to the green panel’s ban order on cultivation of edible crop on <g data-gr-id="27">floodplains</g> of Yamuna here.

The DDA had on June 16 demolished huts and razed farms spread over 20 acres in order to clear the banks of <g data-gr-id="16">Yamuna</g> of unauthorised settlements and farms.

A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, which refused to pass any direction, asked Delhi Peasants Multipurpose Society to get the crops tested in the laboratory in order to check the level of contamination in the produce.

“Can you dispute the fact that <g data-gr-id="24">Yamuna</g> is highly polluted? Why should we permit you to save the agricultural produce? We cannot put the health of people at <g data-gr-id="23">stake</g> for your monetary gains,” the Bench said while posting the matter for next hearing on July 14. The farmers’ society has sought modification of the January 13 order of the Tribunal by which it had prohibited cultivation of edible crop on the floodplains of <g data-gr-id="22">Yamuna</g> here, saying the vegetables grown there were “highly contaminated” and their consumption could lead to cancer.