Keen to work with under CSR to clean Yamuna, fight toxic air: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta

New Delhi, Sep 8 Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday signalled her government’s willingness to work closely with the industry and corporate sector to rejuvenate the Yamuna, fight toxic air and tackle mounting waste hills.

Speaking at a programme titled “Revival of Yamuna and Delhi – A CSR Dialogue” organised at Raj Niwas, she said that to transform the nation’s capital into a “Viksit Delhi”, her government has decided to encourage partnership with the industry.

“The government believes that this initiative is in continuation of several successful efforts undertaken under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), encouraging partnership between government and industry,” she said.

The Chief Minister stated that making the Yamuna River clean and pure is a firm commitment of her government.

Taking part in a dialogue, presided over by Lt Governor V.K. Saxena and joined by Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma, CM Gupta said: “Through the partnership of the public and private sectors, efforts to provide the capital with clean air, a pristine Yamuna, and a garbage-free environment will gain new momentum and strength.”

She said the government is exploring concrete solutions such as modern technology-based sewer treatment, long-term environmental work culture, and CSR corpus funds.

In a post on X, she said: “The Delhi government is working at a war footing against challenges like Yamuna pollution, mountains of garbage, and air pollution. Recent efforts such as Bansera, Asita, and Vatika along the Yamuna are proof that where there is a will, there is a way. The government is committed to ensuring that all stakeholders unite in efforts to make Delhi clean, beautiful, and green.”

In addition to senior government officials, representatives of leading industry associations, Indian corporates, and public sector heads also participated in the discussion.

The Delhi Jal Board presented a roadmap of areas where partnership could be established with the industry.

Lt Governor Saxena observed that the three major problems - the Yamuna pollution, towering solid waste heaps, and air pollution - were the chief challenges of Delhi, which have brought international disrepute to the national capital.

He noted that the Delhi government has been making every possible effort to address these problems, with positive results already becoming visible.

The Lieutenant Governor further emphasised that these efforts would only succeed if all sections of society, particularly the corporate sector, play their role through CSR.

The Chief Minister also referred to the three inherited challenges and said that the expected cooperation from the corporate sector must focus on technology for sewage treatment and the development of such work-culture that could bring a permanent end to the pollution of the Yamuna.

CM Gupta suggested that industries establish a “corpus fund” under their CSR initiatives.

She assured that the Delhi Jal Board would provide industries with a list of projects where they could directly utilise their CSR funds.

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