India, Oct. 26 -- Public Works Department (PWD) minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday said the Yamuna's faecal coliform levels-which indicate human and animal waste contamination-had dropped by more than 90% compared to last year's October figures. This led to a political row, as opposition parties claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was "misleading" people ahead of the Bihar elections.

Verma said that four of the eight major sampling points in the river were now within or close to the permissible limit of 2,500MPN (most probable number)/100 ml, a benchmark "rarely" achieved in recent years.

"While the previous government spent 10 years making announcements, we have delivered visible outcomes within seven months. We had promised ...