Namami Gange Project Makes Steady Progress In Reviving A Clean Yamuna In Delhi

Slowly but surely, the ambitious Namami Gange project involving sewerage management along the Yamuna in the capital city, has made gradual progress reviving the hope for the river with clean water.

The Namami Gange team met Delhi Jal Board executives to review progress of various projects in Delhi. It was observed that there was a significant progress in almost all projects in comparison to the previous review meetings.

Two major projects have been completed in sewerage management that includes completion of the rising main from Bharat Nagar to Pitampura which will ensure that the sewage generated from the areas like Karol Bagh, Shastri Nagar, Gulabi Bagh, Rampura, Ashok Vihar and Keshavpuram etc will be tapped and prevented from entering Yamuna.

According to experts, the untreated sewage flowing into the Yamuna is the main problem for making the river dirty. Once the sewerage management is implemented fully, the river will be free from waste water."

Another major project completed is Rehabilitation of Trunk Sewer at Jhilmil colony.

The work for Rithala Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and Kondli Sewage Treatment Plant is nearly half done and it is expected to be completed by December 2022.

After completion of Kondli STP, the quality of water entering Shahdara drainage will improve to a great extent. Rehabilitation of a peripheral sewer in Rithala is expected to be completed by April 2021.

Rehabilitation of this sewer will have a direct impact on the sewage generated in Ashok Vihar and Jahangirpuri areas. STPs of the Rithala cluster are being upgraded and work is progressing well. The main hurdle of necessary permissions regarding relocation/transplantation of trees in the STP premises have been received now.

The Sewage Treatment Plant for Okhla is also progressing well. This will be the largest STP in India with a capacity of 565 MLD. A total of 13 projects for 1384.50 MLD have been taken up in Delhi for Yamuna Cleaning.

The meeting was chaired by Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). Ashok Kumar Singh, Executive Director, NMCG, DP Mathuria, Executive Director, NMCG, RS Negi, Member Drainage, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Chief Engineers from DJB were also present at the meeting.