The Rashtrapati Bhawan is using a technology that will be introduced in Delhi over the next 8 to 10 months.

The President’s Estate will be the first to treat sewage using “constructed wetlands” say researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, who are building the sewage treatment project.

Through the process, 2 million litres of water generated from toilets, bathrooms and the kitchens of the Bhawan will be treated daily.

Traditional sewage water treatment involves processing it physically, chemically and biologically, but the new concept entails creating an artificial marsh where plants like hyacinth and sedge that resemble grass will treat the sewage and remove its impurities.

The plants (roots and stems) contain microorganisms that feed on sewage and break down waste.

The process will then lead to clean water that will be deposited in an existing artificial lake in Rashtrapati Bhawan from where it will be used to water its famous gardens, and used in coolers.

Dr Atul K Mittal, Associate Professor from Department of Civil Engineering, IIT-Delhi, who is spearheading the process says that before the water is sent to the “constructed wetland”, it will be first treated with the traditional use of bacteria to clean it to some extent.

Commenting on the use of constructed wetlands, he said, “Their use has a psychological effect on users who are more willing to use the water from a wetland directly than from a processing unit.”

Though the sewage treatment project is part of Pratibha Patil’s “Roshni” initiative to introduce the concept of recycling in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who wanted to set an example, had first initiated the project.

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