After waiting for the nod from the Ministry of Urban Development for over a year now, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has finally received the technical go-ahead for its ambitious plan of resuscitating the Yamuna’s 22-km stretch in Delhi by constructing interceptor sewers.

While the total construction cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 1,800 crore, the agency plans to finance Rs 600 crore through funding from the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

The DJB is also negotiating with the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) for a loan of Rs 800 crore. The remaining Rs 400 crore for the project will be funded by the Delhi government.

According to sources, the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation of the Ministry of Urban Development, the highest technical body in the country, has given approval to the Delhi Jal Board to go ahead with the Interceptor Sewage Project. The DJB will now seek approval from the Expenditure Finance Committee of the Union Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Urban Development Secretary M Ramachandran told Newsline: “It is a very largescale project. The technical committee, CPHEO, has approved it, but the project will require a final sanction from the Union Cabinet.”

While sources said construction work on the project is likely to begin by the end of this year, its completion will take the agency at least four years. The DJB’s Chief Executive Officer Ramesh Negi said: “The Delhi government has given a green signal and the CPHEO has approved the project. At the earliest, work on it should begin by December after the requisite approvals.”

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