NEW DELHI: The National Mission for a Clean Ganga (NMCG) has held a review meeting of the progress made on 13 Yamuna projects designed to reduce raw untreated sewage flowing into the river. These projects are expected to treat 1,384 million litres of sewage for cleaning of the river.
A senior Delhi Jal Board (DJB) official said several projects had made significant progress since the last review and a team from the central Jal Shakti ministry expressed satisfaction about the work at a meeting on Monday.
The two key sewage diversion projects, which have been completed since the last review, include completion of the rising main line from Bharat Nagar to Pitampura and the trunk sewer line rehabilitation for Jhilmil, the official added.
“The rising main pipeline will prevent the sewage from several heavily populated areas from reaching the river channel untreated,” he said. The areas include Ashok Vihar, Shastri Nagar, Karol Bagh, Gulabi Bagh, Rampura and Keshavpuram. “The rehabilitated trunk line will divert sewage from Jhilmil Colony and the neighbouring areas to the sewage treatment plant,” the official added.
TOI had earlier highlighted how tree felling permission was delaying execution of several STP projects. DJB data shows that 2,901 trees need to be removed under the sewage treatment plants at Rithala and Kondli phases I and II, and the Okhla facility.
The permission for some of these projects have been pending with the forest department for eight to 14 months. Officials say the work is now progressing as permissions regarding the transplantation of trees on the STP premises have been received from the department.
Other projects in which significant progress has been made include rehabilitation of peripheral sewer line in Rithala. “The work is likely to be completed in the next two months and this will reduce the raw sewage from Jahangirpuri, Ashok Vihar and their neighbouring areas,” the official said.
Another key project that is being executed with funds under Namami Gange is setting up of the new Okhla sewage treatment plant, which is expected to be the biggest such facility in the country with a capacity of treating 565 million litres of wastewater every day.
DJB states that 50% of the work at Rithala and Kondli sewage treatment plants, which will reduce pollutant levels in the supplementary drain. Both will be completed before December, officials claim.
The review meeting was chaired by Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, the director general of NMCG.