Delhi begins work on 12 DSTPs to clean Yamuna river

The Delhi government has started work on 12 decentralised STPs covering 120 unauthorised colonies to reduce waste entering the Najafgarh drain and clean the Yamuna river, officials said on Saturday.

In the recently held meeting, chief minister Rekha Gupta reviewed the progress of Yamuna cleaning, where the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) informed her about the work.

Earlier this year, the Delhi government announced the setting up of 40 decentralised STPs (DSTPs) planned by the DJB across Delhi.

''The total estimated cost of the 12 DSTPs is around Rs 860 crore, which will be funded under the AMRUT initiative of the Central government. This will increase the overall treatment capacity by around 40 MGD,'' a senior government official said.

The Najafgarh drain has long carried floating waste, invasive weeds, and untreated pollutants into the Yamuna. ''By targeting the problem at its source, this project is expected to significantly reduce the pollutant load entering the river while also improving drainage efficiency across the city,'' officials said.

Colonies to benefit are Mitraon village, Sarangpur, Sikharpur, Hassanpur and Jaffarpur in Outer Delhi and others.

The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme was launched by the Central government in 2015 to strengthen sewerage systems in urban cities.

In areas where large-scale sewage treatment plants (STPs) cannot be constructed due to space limitations, the DJB plans to install 40 DSTPs to ensure localised waste management.

Currently, the DJB has a sewage treatment capacity of around 600-700 million gallons per day (MGD) across all existing STPs.

The government plans to increase this capacity to 1,250 MGD by June 2027.

The DJB's existing infrastructure includes 37 sewage treatment plants, of which 18 are currently being upgraded. To further enhance treatment capacity, the government is also increasing the treatment capacity of STPs in key locations, including Keshopur, where the capacity is being increased from the existing 12 MGD to 18 MGD for Rs 122 crore, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)