In a key step towards cleaning the Yamuna River, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), which has been facing financial constraints, has received Rs thirty Bn to establish twenty-seven Decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants (DSTPs) across the capital.

The approval came from the Expenditure and Finance Committee headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Although DJB had launched the DSTP programme in 2023 with a target of forty units, the initiative was stalled due to funding delays.

DSTPs treat sewage at the source and are more sustainable than traditional centralised plants. These new facilities will be installed in areas where large-scale infrastructure is not feasible, including JJ clusters and unauthorised colonies such as Rangpuri, Dera Mandi, Fatehpur Beri, Jafarpur village, Shikarpur village, Jaunti, and Ghewra.

The committee has also sanctioned a ten million gallons per day sewage treatment plant (STP) at Delhi Gate to handle waste from the Walled City and nearby areas, which currently flows untreated into the Yamuna.

A previous report highlighted DJB’s underutilisation of funds under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), citing delays in land allotment for thirteen DSTPs.

Delhi produces about seven hundred and ninety-two Mn gallons per day (MGD) of sewage, but DJB’s thirty-seven operational STPs can treat only six hundred and ten MGD. Experts warn that upgrading existing plants is equally crucial.

Source: Press Trust of India