NEW DELHI: The Yamuna floodplain water conservation project has received all necessary approvals for work to start on the ground. The government on Thursday credited this to the “Engineer CM’s” personal push for getting the project approvals. The plan, which envisages storing rainwaters in the Yamuna floodplains, was approved by the National Green Tribunal on Thursday.
“It was the ‘Engineer’ chief minister’s technical understanding that made him understand things much better, and he was able to take critical decisions on the spot. The timely approvals of the Centre also came in as a shot in the arm and helped in giving ample time to do the groundwork for the project. The chief minister personally thanked Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for the quick approvals by the Centre for the project,” said a statement from the Delhi government. Kejriwal personally met Shekhawat in connection with the project.
The project aims at conserving rainwater in the Yamuna floodplains and creating a mega reservoir between Palla and Wazirabad to help deal with the water shortage in Delhi, particularly during the summer months. The project involves the creation of small ponds in the floodplains which will store water from the overflowing Yamuna during the monsoon season.
The pilot project got fast-tracked due to monitoring by the chief minister. Fully convinced that only recycling and recharging of groundwater were the solutions to the problem of water scarcity in the national capital, particularly during the summer months, Kejriwal was monitoring the project on an hourly basis, said the statement issued by the government.