In the run up to the Commonwealth games, the government plans to commercialise a large part of the Delhi ridge and the Yamuna river. In spite of the protests by environmental groups, there is no heed to the harm that these projects shall cause in the ecological balance of the city. The river Yamuna is a major source of hydroelectric power, agricultural and drinking water for Delhi and many surrounding towns. Rather than clean up the Yamuna of the large amounts of sewage and pollutants that Delhi contributes to it, the governing bodies have decided to reclaim a large part for the purpose of glorifying the capital to foreigners and visitors.

The pseudo Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) that was launched in 1993 with funding from Japan to create means of treating sewage water has yet to see the light of day. A fallacious sham of some work has been created to justify an expenditure of more than 1400 crores till date.

The Master Plan of Delhi has been thwarted endlessly by encroaching on the greenery of the ridge and the various water bodies in the city. Delhi's ecological balance has been disturbed since time immemorial. It all started when the first relocation took place during the British Raj on the outskirts of Ring road. Shahadra was developed a major residential and commercial area. Since then there have been many settlements that have been created on the west banks of the Yamuna including Mayur Vihar, Patparganji, and Noida. As many as 25 or even more colonies and settlements have sprung up on the floodplains of the Yamuna and with the advent of the Commonwealth games, there are plans to extend this horrific activity to more areas. In recent plans, the riverbed itself has not been spared from this hara-kiri. Plans are afoot to develop more than 8000 hectares of land for the so-called ‘develop' of the city.

The whole sham of these projects seems to be a mirage created by the government to empty the official coffers to fill their own pockets. The definition of the project depends on what the contextual need of the hour is. The project concocted is an anti polluting one if the environmentalists are acting up. However, if there is an excuse such as the Commonwealth games round the corner, a developmental story is created.

Time and again the natural resources of the land are exploited and defiled. One wonders when the protectors of the land will take cognizance of the harm that they are causing.

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