New Delhi, Dec 1 (IANS) The central government Thursday approved the Rs.1,656-crore ($400-million) phase-III of Yamuna Action Plan (YAP) for Delhi under which it is proposed to rehabilitate damaged trunk sewers to maximise use of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Okhla, Kondli and Rithala, apart from construction of a new STP at Okhla.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the proposal of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-assisted YAP phase-III project under the centrally-sponsored scheme of National River Conservation Plan.
‘The project will be implemented on 85:15 cost sharing basis between the Government of India and the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi for a period of 7 years,’ a release said.
Under the YAP-III, it is proposed to rehabilitate the damaged trunk sewers to maximize the utilization of available treatment capacity and modernise the STPs in three catchment areas of Delhi, namely Okhla, Kondli and Rithala.
It is also proposed to construct of a new, state-of-the-art STP in place of old STP of 136 million litres per day capacity at Okhla and to equip them with tertiary level treatment facilities to achieve treated effluent quality of 10 mg/1 for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) so as to improve the water quality of river Yamuna.
‘These works will be integral to the Sewerage Master Plan being prepared by Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The project will be implemented by DJB under the supervision of the Department of Urban Development, Government of NCT of Delhi,’ it said.
‘The implementation of the project shall improve the water quality of the river along with improved aesthetics of the area through tackling of sewage generated from identified catchments of Delhi,’ it added.
The Indian government has been implementing YAP with assistance from JICA of Japan since 1993 to supplement the efforts of state governments in addressing the problem of pollution of river Yamuna.
A total of 276 schemes including 38 STPs have been completed in 21 towns of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi and 753.25 million litres per day of sewage treatment capacity has been created so far.
