A committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to monitor the cleaning of Yamuna has informed it that 954 hectares of land along the river's floodplain is still under cultivation and sought eviction of those possessing the land.
The Yamuna Monitoring Committee, which comprises retired NGT expert member B S Sajwan and former Delhi chief secretary Shailaja Chandra, told the NGT that a drive to remove illegal cultivation by encroachers had been taken up and till January 7, 352.36 hectares of land has been evicted and repossessed.
"There are 954 hectares under encroachment and agricultural use. YMC has been following up on this relentlessly but in 20 months no plan for eviction has been given," the YMC said.
"NGT may consider directing that a plan for eviction of those possessing the land and where there are no court stays be prepared. Delhi Development Authority needs to be reprimanded for evading doing this for so long. Without a plan, the agriculturists will only get more strength to ward off reclamation efforts whenever these are mounted," the committee said.
It said that a public awareness campaign was agreed to be undertaken for discouraging agriculture and cultivation of vegetables on the Yamuna floodplain and by dissuading people from eating such produce as it leads to entry of toxins in the food chain.
Enforcement action to stop such sale on the Yamuna bridge and pathways leading to the river needs to be addressed by the authorities.
According to a study, dangerous level of metals have been found in vegetables grown in fields along Yamuna which could cause life threatening diseases like cancer. According to the study conducted by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), samples from three east Delhi locations were collected to check status of metal concentration in seven vegetables -- cabbage, cauliflower, radish, brinjal, coriander, fenugreek and spinach.
The NGT had earlier prohibited farming on Yamuna banks, saying "it is an established fact that presently, vegetables, fodder grown and allied projects at the flood plain of river Yamuna are highly contaminated.
The tribunal, however, had allowed restricted activities of floriculture and silviculture subject to specific permissions and restrictions.
The tribunal's verdict had come while hearing a petition filed by Manoj Kumar Mishra of the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, seeking a ban on dumping of rubble into Yamuna and ensuring cleaning up of the river.
Comments
0 comment