Union Home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said the BJP governments in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have prepared a time-bound roadmap to clean the Yamuna, setting a target of restoring the river’s purity by May 2029.
Shah made the remarks while inaugurating and laying the foundation stones for 43 Delhi Jal Board (DJB) projects worth Rs 8,941.22 crore aimed at rejuvenating the river.
“We will come before the people in May 2029 with a clean Yamuna,” he said, adding that a three-year action plan had been drawn up to provide sewer connections to every household and ensure clean water reaches every home. He said the newly launched projects would play a critical role in achieving the target.
He also targeted AAP over Delhi’s landfill sites, claiming that more than two crore tonnes of waste had been removed and 100 acres of land cleared. He said the sites would be transformed into gardens within two years.
Taking aim at AAP’s government in Punjab, Shah accused it of failing to curb drug abuse and asserted that the NDA would form the government in the state by 2029 and dismantle the drug trade.
He alleged that Congress governments and the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government had allowed sewage discharge into the Yamuna over the past three decades.
The home minister also referred to pollution entering the river from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, including industrial waste and sewage, respectively.
Shah slammed Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), saying protests and demonstrations would achieve nothing, and asserted that the NDA would form the next government in Punjab.
Inaugurating projects worth Rs 8,941 crore aimed at cleaning the Yamuna in Delhi, Shah asserted that the BJP would seek a mandate from people in 2029 after rejuvenating the river.
In a blistering attack on the Congress and AAP, Shah said the Opposition parties had accused the ruling dispensation of EVM tampering and vote theft, but had been out of power in many states for decades.
Shah, detailing plans to clean the Yamuna, also accused the previous Congress and AAP governments in Delhi of allowing sewer water discharge into the river and said the BJP government had now managed to reduce the discharge.
Attacking AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Shah said the "politics of excuse" would not save the AAP in the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls.
People in Punjab want an NDA government, he said, claiming that the AAP would be routed in the polls.
Shah also asserted that the prevailing drug trafficking menace would be ended after the formation of an NDA government in Punjab.