New Yamuna agency must clear Delhi's sewage mess

NEW DELHI: The success of the special purpose vehicle for Yamuna will hinge on how quickly and efficiently it will solve the problem of city's sewage and effluent mess. Even though authorities claim it will reduce 70 per cent of the pollution load in the river, the interceptor sewer project, which is part of Yamuna Action Plan III that has a 2016 deadline, may not do much since it does not address gaps in the sewage treatment system.

The other important aspect that needs to be looked into is ensuring ecological flow in the river. According to a report submitted by Delhi Pollution Control Committee to National Green Tribunal, the capital's 13 common effluent treatment plants are treating only 22 per cent of industrial effluents and its sewage treatment plants less than 60 per cent of sewage generated. No wonder Yamuna is in such a bad way .

The plants are all running under capacity. The report states that “only 39 seriously polluting industries“ are running in areas unconnected to CETPs. It opines that effluents from industries will not be of concern because DPCC has prepared an action plan to close down all water polluting industries in Delhi by 2016.Even environmentalists who have been tracking Yamuna's deterioration for years now say the 11 industrial clusters in Delhi are a small challenge in the face of major gaps.

“There are hundreds of small but toxic effluent-releasing industries that are not registered, running in unautho rized colonies. It remains to be seen how governments tackle them,“ said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan.

And this is why the interceptor sewer system may not be a game changer--it will capture flows from all smaller drains flowing into major drains so that they can be treated first.This may improve capacity utilization of Delhi's existing STPs as they will receive the sewage that was otherwise flowing untreated in smaller dra ins. But some of the STPs are not functioning; about seven have been shut down for being replaced by new ones.

A lot of untreated discharge often goes directly to the main drains, officials on condition of anonymity told TOI. “NGT has taken up the problem of Badshahpur drain in Haryana that flows into Najafgarh drain. A huge quantity of effluents and sewage end up in Yamuna from Gurgaon. We know the interceptor sewer cannot meet all treatment requirements,“ said an official. In an analysis of the interceptor sewer project in 2009, Centre for Science and Environment had observed that it is “yet another hardware project which, if implemented, will be costlier than all the projects executed till date for cleaning the 22-kilometre stretch of the river... Laying of interceptor sewers is just one part of the whole project (costing Rs 2,454 crore)“.

It highlighted the need for rehabilitation of two major trunk sewers to intercept 13 drains meeting Yamuna and construction of new STPs once existing ones are utilized to capacity . “Even the 22 natural drains that should be carrying rainwater need treatment through bioremediation and other technologies,“ Sushmita Sengupta, CSE deputy programme manager (water), said.

TOI had reported on August 13 that AAP in Delhi and BJP at the Centre have come together to create a single agency that will bring the areas shared by various landowning agencies under one head, working on the lines of Delhi Metro.