Govt to deploy 32 machines to clean drains polluting Yamuna
New Delhi: The Delhi government has approved the deployment of 32 high-capacity, modern cleaning machines, including two multipurpose dredgers from Finland, to tackle pollution in drains that contribute to contamination of the Yamuna.
According to an official statement, all the machines will be operational by March, and the drive will begin from the Najafgarh drain, which is the highest contributor of pollution into the river.
The drive will start from January and expand in a phased manner to other drains and selected stretches of the Yamuna, it said.
The core objective of the initiative is to stop untreated sludge, silt and solid waste
from entering the Yamuna by intensifying mechanised cleaning of major drains, the statement added.
These machines are designed for deep desilting, sludge extraction, weed clearance and cleaning of waterlogged and inaccessible stretches, areas that have historically remained beyond the reach of conventional equipment.
The machines include eight long boom amphibious excavators, six long boom hydraulic excavators, two amphibious multi-purpose dredgers, six self-propelled, self-unloading hopper barges and three mini amphibious excavators.
Other machines that will be operational are two weed harvester machines, as many wheeled skid steer loaders, two crawler mini hydraulic excavators and a super sucker-cum-jetting machine.
The first phase begins after the dredgers arrive from Finland in the last week of December. These globally proven
machines, extensively used for river and wetland restoration, will become fully operational from January, enabling high-intensity mechanised cleaning operations.
Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said Yamuna cleaning requires sustained action, not symbolic gestures.
“For years, Yamuna cleaning was limited to paperwork. This time, machines will be working on the ground from January,” he said.
Verma alleged that pollution in the Yamuna is the result of years of neglect and outdated systems, while stressing that they are breaking that cycle by deploying modern, high-capacity machines and enforcing strict monitoring.
