The Delhi government announced its plans to build a 27-kilometre road between Chhawla and Basai Darapur along the Najafgarh drain while assessing the project to clean the drain, which is the main source of pollution in the Yamuna river. This road is expected to cost Rs. 3.5 billion. According to a government spokesperson, Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister, presided over the meeting where the decision was made. “The construction of the road along both sides of the drain will cost approximately Rs. 3.5 billion. Lakhs of people living in hundreds of colonies, including Punjabi Bagh, Paschim Vihar, Nilothi, Baprola, Kakrola, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar, Janakpuri, Chhawla, will benefit and traffic in these areas shall also be reduced,” the official said. The route, according to him, is planned to connect to the Dwarka Expressway, the Inner Ring Road at Basaidarapur, the Outer Ring Road at Keshavpur, Pankha Road at Vikaspuri, Najafgarh Road at Kakrola, and a number of other major thoroughfares heading to the airport. “Along this 27 km road stretch, a footpath and a cycle track will also be constructed for pedestrians. Greenery and street scaping will also be carried out on both sides of the road and different types of trees and plants shall be planted,” the official added. When the Congress government was in power in 2012, a plan to construct a corridor alongside the Najafgarh drain was also mooted, but environmentalists opposed it. According to Sisodia, cleaning the Yamuna is the Delhi government's top priority, and it is essential to properly cleanse the Najafgarh drain's output before it enters the river. “We will be taking various steps to clean this drain, including the installation of a sewage network in adjoining unauthorised colonies and the construction of sewage treatment plants. Around two-thirds of the total waste water discharge of Delhi goes into the Najafgarh drain,” he added. For the purpose of clearing out two silt mounds that had developed in the Najafgarh drain, Sisodia sanctioned a project of 550 million. “In the first phase of desilting, 10 lakh cubic metres of silt will be removed from the Najafgarh drain to improve the water flow. The accumulation of silt in the Najafgarh drain is due to untreated sewage, contaminated water from industries, animal dung from dairy colonies and solid waste,” an official from the department of irrigation and flood control said, requesting anonymity. The department calculated that the Najafgarh drain has accumulated almost 77 lakh cubic metres of silt. As per a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) representative, 126 smaller drains send sewage to the Najafgarh drain. “Treatment plants have already been set up by the DJB to treat 44% of the sewage coming in the drain. While we are increasing the capacity of existing STPs, DJB will develop de-centralised STPs in unauthorised colonies to cater to another 20% of the pollution load,” the official said. According to the authorities, three of the 126 drains in Haryana account for 36% of the drain's overall pollution. “In the northern council meeting of the central government held in Jaipur a few months ago, the Haryana government agreed that within a year it will only release sewage from the three drains after treatment of the contaminated water,” the official added. The Haryana Pollution Control Board's representatives remained silent. The Sahibi River, commonly known as the Najafgarh drain, originates in Rajasthan and travels past Najafgarh to the Yamuna. See Also: Delhi budget holds new road infra projectsSisodia promises upgrade of five major Delhi roads