Govt may ban veg farming at Yamuna

The city government is planning to ban farming of vegetables using Yamuna water.
Many reports from different organisations and NGOs have suggested that the harmful chemicals in polluted Yamuna are being transferred to the vegetables which are grown on the riverbank in the city.

Reports have suggested that levels of nickel, manganese and lead in Yamuna water are higher than the international aquatic water quality criteria for fresh water.

A high-powered committee on environment was constituted by the Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung after a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report study claimed that Delhi was the most polluted city in the world.

“The high-powered committee has asked the Horticulture Department to immediately make a plan to stop such farming of vegetables. Not all the farmers at Yamuna’s riverbed are using its water for irrigation but many of the poor are relying on it,” a senior government official said.

Survey planned

A survey will be conducted on area under farming on Yamuna’s banks to find out where the contaminated water is being used.

However, farmers using groundwater for irrigation will be allowed to continue vegetable farming.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) had found harmful chemicals in the vegetables grown with Yamuna water in year 2012.

“Our findings made it clear that it is essentially green leafy vegetables that contain the highest amount of metals. This is because such vegetables have a high tendency to accumulate metals. Levels were significantly lower in other vegetables and practically negligible in drinking water samples,” TERI said in a statement.

As the government can’t just snatch the livelihood of farmers, it has decided to offer them a substitute.

“We are planning to replace vegetable farming with floriculture and ornamental plantations. This will give the poor farmers an opportunity to earn money,” the official added.