Activists demand audit of Yamuna cleaning expenses

Environmentalists have demanded an audit of the total expenditure, including the foreign loans received, for cleaning the Yamuna river and appealed to candidates contesting the Lok Sabha election to include the issue in their agendas.

"The latest loan of Rs.937 crores provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency will also go into the gutters or into the pockets of corrupt officials," activist Anand Rai said.

Environmentalists Saturday celebrated Yamuna Jayanti at the Etmauddaula view-point here and appealed all the candidates contesting the election in Uttar Pradesh to include issues related to the Yamuna in their agendas and save the dying river.

Naresh Paras, vice president of the Agra RTI Forum, said: "We have been hearing of various efforts to clean the Yamuna and tap drains that pollute it. Thousands of crores have been squandered away without any discernible benefits. A comprehensive audit of both the central and the state government introduced schemes and expenses should be done."