The Miles on the Yamuna DU Innovation Project (MH-104) at Miranda House, University of Delhi was Co-mentored by Dr. Govind Singh and was aimed at developing a holistic understanding of the pollution problem of River Yamuna in Delhi.
Project Summary: The growing population and rapid unplanned urbanisation has led to the mushrooming of some extremely congested colonies in Delhi. Many of these colonies are on the banks of the River Yamuna and have encroached on the riparian zones of the river. These riparian communities largely comprise migrants to Delhi and they constitute the poorest strata of the city. Unlike traditional riparian communities, these are mixed communities dominated by those forced into riparian zones, with no customary practices of ecology management.
Unaware of the traditional riparian practices, these communities have mushroomed in a way that has led to adverse consequences not only for the river but also for these very communities and their livelihoods. The project aims to assess this impact quantitatively and qualitatively with a view to arriving at workable and sustainable solutions with stakeholder participation.
The project intends to put the smile back on the River Yamuna. The project will focus on issues of riparian communities so that the river can be revived through two levels of empirical work – scientific and social. The project will be a synergistic work informed by strong scientific and socio-economic evidence without alienation from ground realities. The data thus generated will be used to find coherent solutions for the stakeholders that are environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
MH-104: Full-year Project Report