The National Green Tribunal on Monday issued show cause notices to the Delhi government and the Delhi Jal Board for not complying with a 2015 order on cleaning and rejuvenation of the Yamuna river, PTI reported. The court asked them to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them.
Except for shifting the blame, the stakeholders, including the Delhi government, could not explain their “inaction and non-cooperation” in the project, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.
The tribunal also asked them to explain why the amount budgeted for the Yamuna cleaning project should not be attached for violation of the order. The NGT had asked the government and Delhi Jal Board for a status report on the first phase of the project, which aims to lower pollution levels in the Najafgarh and Delhi Gate drains.
Delhi Jal Board head Keshav Chandra told the tribunal that the body stopped work on the first phase of the project after the government began an inquiry against him for alleged financial irregularities. The NGT asked why he stopped the work instead of approaching the tribunal.
The tribunal will next hear the matter on November 6.
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