NITI Aayog proposes Yamuna Authority to combine river cleaning efforts

The NITI Aayog is proposing to set up a ‘Yamuna River Authority’, with a view to coordinating the work being done by various government departments for cleaning the river, its vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar said, on April 26, 2018. Kumar further said in case steps are not taken to revive the river, Delhi may face a Cape Town-like situation. Cape Town, a coastal city in South Africa, is facing a severe water shortage in the region since 2015. “I do not know how many of us are aware of the huge threat that we are facing in this city, because of what is happening to the Yamuna river and also what is happening to our groundwater situation. There could be a situation and I am not exaggerating that we could be, in the next 15 years or so, completely bereft of water. We may face a Cape Town-like situation. We will try and set up a Yamuna River Authority, which will combine the work of different departments,” Kumar said at an event. Water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation minister Nitin Gadkari, was also present at the function. Kumar further said that the NITI Aayog will host a conference on the agriculture sector, to explore the possibility of reducing the cost of production of crops and increasing productivity. “The way forward in agriculture, is zero budget and herbal agriculture, rather than the inorganic agriculture. The cost of production in agriculture must come down. The cost of production for 24 out of 26 Indian crops, is higher than the world’s average,” the NITI Aayog vice-chairman noted.