Industry, corporate to be involved to address Delhi’s air pollution, clean Yamuna

The BJP-led Delhi government on Monday announced to involve the industry and corporate sector to effectively resolve the three major challenges of the city – Yamuna pollution, garbage mountains, and air pollution.

The government believes that this initiative is in continuation of several successful efforts undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), encouraging partnership between government and the industry.

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Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has stated that making the Yamuna River clean and pure is a firm commitment of her government.

In connection with this subject, a programme titled “Revival of Yamuna and Delhi – A CSR Dialogue” was organised on Monday at the Raj Niwas.

Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena observed that the three major problems inherited by the new government Yamuna river pollution, towering solid waste heaps, and air pollution were the chief challenges of Delhi, which have brought international disrepute to the national capital.

He noted that the government has been making every possible effort to address the issues, with positive results already becoming visible.

The LG further emphasised that these efforts would only succeed if all sections of society, particularly the corporate sector, play their role through CSR.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM also referred to the three inherited challenges and said that the expected cooperation from the corporate sector must focus on technology for sewage treatment and the development of such work-culture that could bring a permanent end to the pollution of the Yamuna.

Gupta suggested that industries establish a “corpus fund” under their CSR initiatives, and assured that the Delhi Jal Board would provide industries with a list of projects where they could directly utilise their CSR funds.

The CM was clear that keeping the Yamuna clean and pure is a top priority of her government, adding that the regime intends to restore the river to its original pristine form, which the people of Delhi also long for.

Gupta noted that Delhi’s challenges are enormous, but any problem can be solved if the government, industry, and society work together.

She affirmed her government’s wholehearted and sincere commitment to making Delhi clean, green, and pollution-free, emphasising the need to develop a work-culture in which projects continue to safeguard the environment for the coming fifty-years.

The meeting also appealed to industry to adopt drains and establish small sewage treatment plants along their banks, which would significantly reduce the pollution entering the Yamuna.

Referring to the recently developed green areas in the Yamuna floodplains such as Baansera, Asita, and Vatika, the CM highlighted that “where there is a will, there is a way.”

She assured that her government has already started taking every possible step to solve the capital’s problems, and also urged industries to take up tree plantation under their CSR programmes so as to strengthen the national capital’s environment.

Delhi’s water minister Parvesh Verma remarked that no matter how difficult the task, the government will ensure Yamuna’s cleaning within the stipulated time frame, expressing confidence that, for the first time in decades, Yamuna cleaning would not become a political issue in the forthcoming elections.