Indian Express 31.08.2009 Inflow to Yamuna to be cleaned up at last
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.”
Once the construction costs are dealt with, however, the DJB will need another Rs 600 crore for the operation and maintenance of the project for 10 years. Delhi, on an average, extracts 240 million gallons per day (MGD) from the Yamuna for its fresh water needs and releases 950 MGD.
According to the DJB, the interceptor sewer project is an integrated approach towards zero sewage flow in the drains and ultimately the river. The laying of interceptor sewers includes tapping the minor drains carrying sewage into three of the major drains — Najafgarh, Supplementary and Shahdara — and conveying the same to the nearest treatment plant to ensure that only treated sewage is discharged. The project aims to lay 60 kms of sewers parallel to these three drains to tap 135 minor drains.
