NEW DELHI: Work under the Yamuna Action Plan Phase III has been set back by up to two years due to delays in permissions from agencies, the lockdown and a temporary ban on construction activities to counter high pollution levels, according to a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) report.
In the report detailing work progress till January 2022, the DJB said the work was delayed due to a delay in tree-cutting permission, a nod from road-owning agencies, traffic permissions, EPCA ban and slow progress during the monsoon season.
The DJB is the project executing agency for the Yamuna Action Plan Phase III, aimed at reducing the pollution load in the river in Delhi by treating domestic wastewater, for which the Centre received funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2011.
“To reduce pollution in the Yamuna, YAP III is augmenting sewage treatment capacity with the renovation, rehabilitation and replacement of the existing sewerage system,” the report said. The project focuses on rehabilitation of trunk sewers, rising mains and existing wastewater treatment plants; improving the treated effluent quality to tertiary level; construction of a new wastewater treatment plant at Okhla; and instructional strengthening and capacity building.
The project components fall in three drainage zones Okhla, Kondli and Rithala. According to the report, the rehabilitation of trunk sewer number 4 and Nawana Road, Anand Vihar, Hargovind Enclave and Vikas Marg sewers, which started on November 29, 2017, and was to be completed in November 2019, is now likely to be completed on February 28, 2022.