EIL,3 other agencies roped in to clean Yamuna

“Engineers India Ltd has been appointed the project management consultants for implementation of the project. The work has been awarded to three different agencies for its completion in a time bound manner,” a DJB spokesperson said.

Delhi,on an average,extracts 240 million gallons per day (MGD) from the Yamuna for its fresh water needs,and releases 950 MGD of untreated sewage. According to the DJB,the interceptor sewer project is an integrated approach towards zero sewage flow in the drains,and ultimately the river.

The project,DJB officials said,has a twin purpose.

The DJB has a target horizon period of 2036,when the interceptor sewer will function as additional trunk sewer,to take flows of the existing sewer network as they would have exceeded their capacities by then. “The project lays foundation sewers for the yet unsewered areas,including the 1,639 unauthorised colonies,1,080 slums and JJ clusters and 190 rural villages in Outer Delhi,” a senior DJB official said.

The interceptor sewer promises to be completely independent and neutral to the timeframe,within which un-authorised colonies will be provided sewerage.

“The interceptor sewer will need only two or three additional STPs in the course of next two to three years of around 70 MGD capacity. This will also ensure that the three major drains,which account for 75 per cent of the pollution problem,receive only treated effluent and,therefore,the quality of water entering the river will improve,” the spokesperson said.

The quality of river water is expected to improve the biological oxygen demand levels from 41 ppm at present,to 12 ppm. “The effluent generated will be treated to such a level that it can be utilised for non-potable purposes in industrial and horticulture areas,” the official said.