New Delhi, 22 October (H.S.): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 43 projects of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) aimed at rejuvenating the Yamuna River. The programme was held at Shyam Vihar, with the projects carrying a combined investment of Rs 8,941 crore. The initiative includes the inauguration of 10 projects worth Rs 2,827.11 crore and the laying of foundation stones for 33 projects valued at Rs 6,114.11 crore.

Addressing the gathering, Shah said the government would return to seek votes in 2029 after making the Yamuna clean and pollution-free. He accused the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of allowing sewage and cattle dung to flow into the river over the past three decades.

Shah said projects worth nearly Rs 9,000 crore had been inaugurated and launched with the objective of purifying the Yamuna. Describing them as the backbone of the river-cleaning initiative, he emphasised their importance in addressing the pollution crisis.

He recalled that soon after the government was formed in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level meeting during the first month itself. At the meeting, Modi outlined his vision for cleaning the Yamuna to the Delhi government and the Union Home Ministry. Shah claimed that, despite the limited time available, more than 40 per cent of the journey towards achieving this objective had already been completed.

The projects encompass a range of wastewater treatment, sewage management and drinking water infrastructure initiatives. These include a new 124-million-gallons-per-day (MGD) sewage treatment plant (STP) at Okhla, costing Rs 1,161 crore; the upgradation of eight STPs at an estimated cost of Rs 1,041 crore; and the construction of 29 new decentralised sewage treatment plants (DSTPs) and sewage pumping stations across Outer Delhi, involving an investment of Rs 3,113.67 crore.

The package also includes the development of a 1,034-kilometre sewer network at a cost of Rs 1,691 crore, a 477-million-litres-per-day (MLD) water treatment plant at Chandrawal valued at Rs 298.3 crore, and a 4.5-kilometre-long Mundka trunk drain project costing Rs 225.02 crore.

Turning to the Opposition's protest movement, Shah alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was using the issue of alleged vote theft as a pretext to protect the votes of infiltrators. He claimed that the Congress had not won elections in Gujarat for 41 years and in Delhi for 18 years, adding that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would remain in power for the next three decades.

Taking a swipe at Gandhi, Shah remarked that he did not need to travel abroad every six months. He asserted that the Congress would never return to power and accused the AAP of doing nothing substantial to clean the Yamuna.

Shah also dismissed protests and sit-ins as ineffective, arguing that political power was secured by addressing people's hardships and delivering results rather than staging demonstrations.

Criticising the AAP government in Punjab, Shah alleged that the drug trade had expanded under its tenure. He said the public had made up its mind to bring a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government to power, adding that excuses would no longer suffice and that people expected tangible results.

He further alleged that, after losing Delhi, the AAP had shifted its attention to Punjab, thereby obstructing the functioning of the state's Chief Minister. Shah predicted that the AAP would face a comprehensive defeat in the next Punjab elections and pledged that the government would eliminate the drug trade in the state by 2029.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar