Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal speaking on the second day of the winter session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, in New Delhi. file. , Photo Credit: ANI
On January 18, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel had ordered four BJP MLAs to be marshalled out by marshals following protests in the House over the issue of pollution in the Yamuna river.
The BJP legislators demanded a debate on the issue of pollution but the Speaker turned down their demand saying he would not allow the debate under any rules.
The MLAs also handed over Yamuna water samples in two bottles to the Speaker, who threatened to disqualify the BJP MLAs if the water was found to be tainted with acid. Goyal told the BJP MLAs, “The Lt Governor has paralyzed the House and the BJP MLAs should be ashamed of it. The BJP MLAs should go to the Lt Governor and ask him not to disrupt the House.”
While BJP MLAs Ajay Mahawar, Anil Bajpai, Mohan Singh Bisht and OP Sharma were ordered to be marshalled out by Goyal, the rest of the BJP MLAs decided to boycott the House proceedings in protest.
Earlier, BJP MLAs staged a sit-in outside the Delhi Assembly over the issue of pollution in Yamuna river.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said that the supply of dirty water from the Yamuna was harming the health of the people.
Citing Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) data, the Lieutenant Governor’s office on Monday said pollution in the Yamuna river has doubled in the last eight years of the Arvind Kejriwal government.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it is already working to resolve chronic problems and the upgradation of almost all major sewage treatment plants (STPs) is expected to be completed by the end of December.
Waste water from unauthorized colonies and slums, poor quality of treated waste water released from STPs and common effluent treatment plants are the main reasons behind the high level of pollution in the river.
DPCC data shows that biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels have remained within the permissible limit (2 milligrams per liter) since 2014 at Palla, where the river enters Delhi.
BOD, an important parameter to assess water quality, is the amount of oxygen required by aerobic microorganisms to decompose organic matter present in a water body. A BOD level less than 3 milligrams per liter (mg/liter) is considered good.