New Delhi [India], October 22 (ANI): Highlighting a comprehensive strategy to clean and restore the Yamuna, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday asserted that the government is advancing with a 'scientific roadmap' to ensure a clean and uninterrupted river, backed by massive civic infrastructure projects worth nearly 9,000 crore.

Speaking to reporters here following the inauguration and foundation-stone laying of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) projects by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Chief Minister stated that the multi-crore overhaul fulfils decades-old demands of the capital's residents.

'Our goal is that every household in Delhi is connected to a sewer network, every drain is intercepted by a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP), and untreated waste stops flowing into the Yamuna. We are advancing with a scientific roadmap so that in a few years, we can gift the people of Delhi a clean, pristine, and perennial Yamuna,' Gupta said.

Citing the completion of the long-pending Chandrawal water project as a key milestone, the Chief Minister noted that the government has consistently scaled up water and sewerage investments over its 18-month tenure to fix the city's foundational civic infrastructure.

'Today is a day of immense joy for the people of Delhi. Projects worth nearly 9,000 crore were either inaugurated or had their foundation stones laid today. These include works that citizens had been waiting for over years, laying new sewer lines, commissioning water treatment plants, setting up new sewage treatment plants (STPs), and connecting unsewered areas to treatment networks,' the Chief Minister said.

She also extended gratitude to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for partnering on critical infrastructure initiatives in the city.

Speaking on the occasion, Delhi Minister Parvesh Verma detailed the scope of the projects, pegged at 8,941 crore, stressing that clean Yamuna has shifted from an election slogan to ground-level delivery.

'In just 19 months of our government, land was allotted through the DDA, tenders were finalised and awarded, and work has begun on the ground. World-class agencies and international organisations such as JICA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are supporting these efforts. This has been made possible due to seamless coordination between the Delhi Government and the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,' Verma said.

He added that hundreds of unauthorised colonies and rural villages, which lacked basic civic amenities for decades, will now be connected to formal sewer and piped water networks.

Taking a political swipe at the opposition on the occasion of Union Home Minister Amit Shah's birthday, Parvesh Verma contrasted the working styles of political leaders.

'Today is Union Home Minister Amit Shah's birthday. While leaders like Rahul Gandhi travel abroad to places like Thailand to celebrate their birthdays, our leaders spend their birthdays among the public, dedicating their time to public welfare projects,' Verma said.

Dismissing opposition allegations questioning the credibility of elections and democratic processes, Verma added: 'When Congress and its alliance partners win in states, the Election Commission and voter lists are deemed fine. But the moment they lose, they begin blaming the machinery. The public knows that the opposition has no vision, and voters across the country have consistently placed their trust in the BJP's governance model.' (ANI)