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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Yamuna clean-up op: Delhi govt to map drains, plug sewage leaks
As part of its plan to clean the Yamuna, the BJP Delhi government is planning to hire an agency to survey each drain that is not connected to the treatment system. Based on the findings, drains will be trapped to curb the flow of untreated water into the river, said officials. According to officials, the government is also planning to reach out to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to assess the output of wastewater being released from all Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in the future. Cleaning the Yamuna and making it pollution-free is one of the top priorities of the BJP government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have held meetings in this regard in the past two months. Officials said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has asked to prepare a plan and hire an agency to identify gaps and disconnected drains and sewers and assess the sewerage zones. 'The department concerned has directed to hire an agency by the end of this month. The process has begun, and the survey will be completed by September… Based on the identified gaps, detailed project reports (DPRs) will be prepared by project engineers. Projects will be structured accordingly, and the estimated timeline for this is set for December this year,' said a senior official. The CPCB will also conduct inspections to identify operational gaps. 'All existing STPs and their outfalls will be inspected by the CPCB to assess operational shortcomings. For this, the timeline has been set for July 2025. Following its report, the DJB will formulate an action plan… The target for the work is set for October this year, ' said an official. Officials said over the last few years, the DJB has been working on the Interceptor Sewer Project — it entails trapping all drains and diverting wastewater to the nearby STP. However, there are some large drains like Najafgarh and Shahdara where it is not possible to tap them fully, due to which, eventually, untreated water enters the river. 'For such drains, solutions need to be considered, such as tapping 26 out of 182 sub-drains and treating the remaining at their outlets,' read a government document. Officials said 9 out of 22 drains that flow directly into the river have been trapped. Two drains have been partially trapped. Full trapping of drains is set to be completed by December 2027. 'Trapping work for two drains is in progress and is likely to be completed by the end of this year. Meanwhile, 7 drains have not yet been trapped, and no diversion has been made to the sewer/STP for treatment. The deadline to complete this work has been set for December 2027,' said an official. Under this project, the Delhi government also plans to install sewer connections in all unauthorised colonies. Recently, the central government approved Rs 804 crore for this project under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme 2.0. The government plans to install around 13,000 new sewer connections in slum areas, and 2.5 lakh sewer connections in unauthorised colonies and other residential areas.
Indian Express
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Centre approves Rs 800 crore for Delhi Jal Board under AMRUT scheme
In a major financial boost, the Central government has recently approved Rs 800 crore for the Delhi Jal Board under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme to provide sewer connections in slums and unauthorised colonies across the city. A meeting was held earlier this month between the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials and the apex committee on the AMRUT scheme under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs where funds were approved under the Yamuna cleaning project. According to the proposal, around 13,000 new sewer connections in the slum areas will be provided under the AMRUT scheme for holistic improvement of the Yamuna river. 'The Union Territory (Delhi) was also advised to work holistically for Yamuna rejuvenation and sewerage management and to have a clear sludge processing strategy to work out its reuse,' an official document said. Currently, the DJB is unable to treat the entire amount of sewage generated by the city to increase its overall sewage treatment capacity by connecting all households to sewerage treatment infrastructure. In the first budget of the new BJP government, water and sewerage sector has been given one of the biggest shares of Rs of Rs 9,000 crore. Delhi Chief minister Rekha Gupta has allocated Rs 500 crore for repair of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in the budget, this covers the two projects. The DJB currently has 37 STPs and out of these 18 are under upgradation projects to increase the overall treatment capacity of sewerage treatment in the city, said officials. For the past few years, the DJB has been working on the Interceptor Sewer Project, which entails trapping all drains and diverting the wastewater flowing in them to the nearby STP. However, there are some drains where trapping is not possible like the Najafgarh drain, eventually the wastewater enters Yamuna. 'Through this fund we plan to increase our overall sewerage capacity in the next few years. For the past few years, the department has been trying to provide sewer connections in all areas so that there is no untreated sewage flowing openly in the drains and eventually landing in Yamuna,' said a DJB official. The Centre has also directed the DJB to come up with ways of proper and complete utlisation of treated wastewater for non-drinking purposes. The Jal Shakti Ministry has asked the board to carry out a party audit of all existing sewage treatment plants.
