New Delhi: The Delhi government on Saturday proposed to construct a new drain similar to the Najafgarh drain for the treatment of polluted water from neighbouring states, according to a statement.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has issued directions to set up a committee under the chairmanship of Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to check the feasibility of the proposal, it said. Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena put up the proposal at the 30th Northern Region Council meeting in Jaipur after Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia raised the issue of Haryana discharging industrial and chemical effluent into the Najafgarh drain.
The Najafgarh drain is the largest drain in Delhi which accounts for around 60 per cent of the wastewater discharged from the capital into the Yamuna river. Sisodia supported the proposal.
He also demanded that the construction of the Renuka Ji dam be expedited and the central government decide the quantum of water to be given to Delhi.
The Renuka Ji dam is being constructed on the Giri river in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district. According to the statement, Shah said that a committee will be constituted to decide the amount of water to be given to Delhi. Delhi is also pursuing early and time-bound completion of Lakhwar and Kishau dams in Dehradun. While the Kishau dam is coming up on the Tons river, the Lakhwar dam is being constructed on the Yamuna.