FIGHT AGAINST WEAK ENFORCEMENT

Activists help clean Yamuna by mapping pollution, monitoring drains, mobilising volunteers alongside official efforts

- PRABHAT SHUKLA @ New Delhi

While government agencies continue to promise that the Yamuna will soon be clean enough for bathing, two independent activists working on the ground argue that pollution persists due to systemic inaction, corruption, and weak enforcement. Despite personal risks and no institutional support, they have spent years identifying polluting units, inspecting sewage treatment plants (STPs) and pursuing legal action to push authorities into taking meaningful steps.

A one-man crusade

Varun Gulati, 41, has been waging a near one-man battle against industrial pollution in Delhi since 2018. Armed with a drone borrowed from a friend, Google Maps, and legal perseverance, Gulati says he has identified and reported hundreds of illegal dyeing and chemical units operating without waste treatment facilities. "There are 27 such areas in Delhi where industries operate in 70% of the space, but not one has a CETP (Common Effluent Treatment Plant)," he says.

"Each of these units releases 5 to 10 lakh litres of untreated waste containing sulphate, ammonia, phosphate-into the Yamuna every single day." Gulati claims he has managed to get around 700 polluting units sealed over the years-but not without struggle. "Officials often warn factory owners in advance. By the time an inspection is carried out, the unit is already shut. Then they report there's no violation," he says.