Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav on Saturday claimed that the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) have raised serious concerns regarding the Yamuna cleaning campaign initiated by the BJP-led government.

Citing a DPCC report, he alleged that 19 out of 37 sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Delhi are not meeting the standards set by the CPCB.

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He further claimed that the government’s decision to launch cruise services on a 4-kilometre stretch of the river between Sonia Vihar and Jagatpur is merely an attempt to cover up its failures and incompetence over the past 100 days in fulfilling its promise to clean the Yamuna.

Yadav emphasized that the government’s first priority should be cleaning the river, as residents are compelled to cover their faces due to the foul stench while crossing it.

Criticizing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), he said the previous government failed to clean the river despite setting a deadline of 2024.

He also recalled that during the Assembly elections, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, had released a video highlighting the issue of pollution in the Yamuna and had challenged Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to take a dip in it.

Yadav asserted that the horrific condition of the Yamuna is the result of a confluence of negligence and corruption by both the Modi and Kejriwal governments.