NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is working on a concrete plan to clean up the river Yamuna and reduce its pollution load by 90 per cent by March 2023.
At a review meeting, the DJB gave a detailed presentation to Kejriwal and water minister Satyendar Jain on four major interventions devised for cleaning up of the river — first, the Delhi government will set up a modern technology plant to treat around 150 MGD of polluted water coming from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh by natural wetlands and aeration method.
Second, the wastewater in the small or big drains will be tapped into Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). Third, steps will be taken to improve the quality of the existing STPs, including upgrading all the equipment and using innovative processes.
And fourth, all the sludge and the septage from the septic tanks across the city will be collected by the DJB and reused in the bio-gas plants to generate electricity and gas.
There are five major outfalls carrying wastewater into the Yamuna, including Najafgarh drain, Shahdara drain, Barapulla drain, Delhi Gate drain, Mori Gate drain.
The Najafgarh and Shahdara drains, apart from Delhi wastewater, also receive polluted water from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The STPs and the drains will be treated as per the Yamuna Cleaning plan of the Delhi government to prevent polluted water to flow into the Yamuna.
The national capital generates around 720 million gallons of wastewater per day, of which around 525 million gallons is treated by sewage treatment plants.
The government will increase the treated water reuse capacity to 400 million gallons per day. More treated water will be used in lakes, forests, gardening, and groundwater recharge and irrigation purposes.