NEWS

There could be bad news for the Delhi government, which is bracing for next year's Commonwealth Games, as the Najafgarh drain basin in East Delhi has been being ranked eleventh in the country's highly polluted 88 industrial clusters.According to the report "Comprehensive environmental assessment of industrial clusters" which was released today by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, the pollution level in NCR region such as Ghaziabad and Noida too has touched an alarming high level.

Prepared by IIT-Delhi in association with the Central Pollution Control Board, the report puts Najafgarh drain basin (including Anand Parvat, Naraina, Okhala and Wazirpur which are industrial hubs) in the eleventh place in the over all list.

But followed by Noida, the Najafgarh drain basin which is also the biggest polluter to Yamuna, tops the list of thirty-three "critically" polluted industrial hubs, scoring between 70-80 in the Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI). The Index captures the various health dimensions of environment including air, water and land. And the drain has scored 79.54 points, which is attributed to huge effluents and sewage in its drainage basin.