Govts of UP and Delhi lock horns over Shahdara drain

Lucknow, Oct 23 (UNI) The century old Shahdara drain flowing from New Delhi to Noida has turned out to be a bone of contention between the BSP and the Congress state governments with Uttar Pradesh threating to not allow pollutants from the National Capital to enter UP.

The Shahdara drain, that carries affluents from Delhi, has given a new turn to the already soured relations between the BSP and the Congress with UP officials asking their counterparts in the National Capital to shift the drain out of Noida.

''UP will not allow pollutants from Delhi to enter UP,'' a senior official has conveyed to the Chief Secretary of the Delhi government recently.

Shahadra drain flows through Delhi and enters Noida before it merges with the Yamuna.

Gautam Buddha Nagar district officials have told their counterparts in Delhi to divert the drain out of UP's region. Uttar Pradesh has even suggested an alternate route and asked the Delhi government to allow the drain to flow through Hindon. The government, in turn, has questioned the feasibility of the suggested route.

A three-member committee has been constituted to study the feasibility of the diversion by the UP government.

The sudden request from UP has come as a surprise to the Delhi administration as the Shahadra drain is almost 100-years-old and it flows through Sector 11 and 12 in Noida and pours its contents into the Yamuna.

UP officials admitted that the area from where the drain passes had a real estate value and if the drain could be levelled and put under the hammer, the state could earn good revenue.

Officials even say that the Shahadra drain is polluting groundwater. ''People are forced to drink polluted water due to the Shahadra drain and if it gets diverted, we would be able to supply fresh and clean water to the residents of this locality,''a senior official in Gautam Buddha Nagar said.

The Delhi government has even offered to treat the affluents before letting it enter UP, but Noida officials have not budged from their stand.

''The UP government's request is baseless. It says Shahadra drain should not pass through Noida. Whether it passes through Noida or not, it has to join the Yamuna on the UP side due to the gradient and geographical positioning. This drain cannot be taken upstream. It has to go downstream and open into the Yamuna in the UP,'' a senior DDA official had stated .

The issue will again rake up political battle after the UP government and Centre's spat on several issues, including the controversy over the land of the Rail Coach Factory at Rae Bareli and the demand of Rs 80,000 crore financial package from the Centre by UP Chief Minister Mayawati.

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