Nod to two sewage treatment projects

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) recently approved the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB’s) two sewage treatment projects in the national capital, cu ...

Copied NEW DELHI: The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) recently approved the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB’s) two sewage treatment projects in the national capital, cumulatively worth `924 crore, senior officials aware of the matter have revealed.

The two projects, set to add 49 million gallons per day (MGD) of treatment capacity at Rohini and Pappankalan, are part of DJB’s three-pronged action plan for improving sewage management in the city, officials aware of the matter said.

The first component of the plan involves upgrading the 37 existing sewage treatment plants (STPs).

While work on 28 of them has been completed, more is to be done on nine.

The second one involves setting up 29 decentralised STPs (DSTPs) in outer areas to cater to unauthorised colonies and villages without sewer networks.

Meanwhile, the third component involves constructing STPs to tap and treat sewage flowing through drains.

The DJB has so far planned 13 such projects, with another three to four likely to be added.

The NMCG funding comes into this third component, with the Rohini and Pappankalan projects forming part of this programme, the official said.

However, the approval details also state that a portion of the untreated sewage in the Pappankalan catchment requires separate treatment schemes, proposed to be managed differently.

The proposed 35 MGD Rohini waste water treatment plant (WWTP) has an estimated cost of `642.43 crore and will be built within the existing 25 MGD plant premises on around 7.5 hectares of DJB land.

It will cater to Kirari, Begumpur, Budh Vihar, Raja Vihar and Shahabad, with sewerage network and pumping station works already under implementation.

The plant is expected to intercept sewage from 21 drains and sub-drains in its catchment, reducing untreated discharge into the Supplementary Drain and the Yamuna.

On the other hand, the 14 MGD Pappankalan WWTP has been estimated at `281.61 crore and will be constructed within the existing 20 MGD plant premises.

It is expected to serve around 4.5 lakh people by 2043.

However, the project’s report shows that the new capacity will address only part of the untreated sewage problem there.

Three of the seven identified drains currently discharge around 18.7 MGD of untreated sewage.