Beautification drive of Yamuna starts with removal of slums

New Delhi, Mar 26: The high-powered committee appointed by the Delhi High Court has started removal of slums from the banks of Yamuna in order to beautify the region before the Commonwealth Games to be held in the capital in 2010.

The committee, headed by retired Delhi High Court Judge Justice Usha Mehra, has said that more than 300 slums have been removed from the banks of the river near the Nizamuddin bridge in East Delhi and the area has been fenced.

The Convener of the Yamuna-Removal of Encroachments Monitoring Committee S M Aggrawal said, ''The Committee has now been successful in getting more than 300 slums removed from the area.'' The Delhi Police Commissioner has been asked to issue directions to all the police stations in the region to guard the area from further encroachments, he added.

A road map has also been chalked out to ensure that all encroachments are removed from the banks between the Old Railway bridge and ITO bridge by April 30, 2004.

As the government machinery failed to remove the slums from the areas despite repeated court orders, a Delhi High Court division bench comprising Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma had appointed the committee on December 8 last year.

The committee comprises Justice Mehra, V N Singh, a retired Delhi Police Commissioner, DDA Vice Chairman, MCD Commissioner, Delhi Police Commissioner and Chief Engineer UP State Irrigation Department at Okhla Barrage.

As scores of foreign tourists and players would be coming to the Games village and adjacent Akshardham temple, the government has planned to develop the area as a place of recreation with well-developed parks and landscapes.

Despite the river being the lifeline of the city, due to negligence and lackadaisical attitude of the authorities Yamuna has become one of the most polluted sources of water in the world.

UNI