Niti Aayog in talks with water ministry

New Delhi: Niti Aayog said today that it is in discussions with the water resources ministry for establishing an authority to clean and rejuvenate the Yamuna river in the capital.

Almost 60-70 per cent of the pollution in Yamuna comes from the Najafgarh drain alone and if that single drain could be handled, it is possible to rejuvenate the river again, Niti Aayog vice chairman Rajiv Kumar said. 

Speaking at the 3rd Kalam International Youth Conclave here, he said: “We at Niti Aayog have decided to formulate/ establish Yamuna Water Management Authority. It is almost a dead river now and that is why I have been talking with Nitin Gadkari (on this).”

Union minister of water resources Nitin Gadkari, is on-board with respect to establishing such an authority and project will start soon on this direction, Mr Kumar said.

Besides, he said, the government is planning to use the funds of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme to desilt water bodies such as ponds in villages an in hinterlands to conserve water in a better way.

He said that the country needs to take a giant step in making its agriculture sector more water-efficient than it is today and the effort should be towards shifting focus from conserving water in the urban areas to conserving water in agriculture sector as the sector consumes a huge amount of water.

Mr Kumar said that the enormity of water crisis is not being recognised in the country and only technology can help find the solution to this problem.