Delhi's sewage system polluting Yamuna -- Ministry

Delhi's sewage system polluting Yamuna -- Ministry
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NEW DELHI, SEPT 6: Throwing light on a major cause of pollution of the river Yamuna, the Union Environment Ministry has informed the Supreme Court that the entire trunk sewage system of Delhi is in a highly dilapidated state allowing untreated sewage to reach the river and pollute it.

"The entire trunk sewage system of Delhi which measures about 125 km in length is presently under highly dilapidated condition," the ministry said in an affidavit before the court which was hearing the case on steps to be taken to make the river pollution free.

The ministry said most of the sewer lines were silted to the extent of 50 to 70 per cent and added "in the absence of a fully functional trunk sewerage system, most of the sewerage generated is discharged untreated into open drains joining the river Yamuna resulting in its pollution."

Citing an estimate by the Delhi Jal Board, the ministry said in the affidavit filed through advocate S Wasim A Quadri that the funds needed to rehabilitate and refurbish the trunk sewage system was of the order of Rs. 435 crore.

It said the water quality of Yamuna river upstream of Wazirabad barrage, the entry point of Delhi, was generally within the prescribed water quality standards.

The Environment Ministry said "it is the 22 km stretch of the river between Wazirabad and Okhla which is the most critical segment from the point of view of river pollution."

In this stretch, while there was no perennial flow during the dry season except about 10 cumecs (cubic meters per second) of water released by various riparian states, nearly 2720 million litres per day of combined municipal sewage and industrial effluents of the city were being discharged into the river through surface drains, it said.

Regarding construction of sewage treatment plants (STPS) by the Delhi Government, the ministry said going by the pace of construction of the 14 stps, it would take at least five years to complete the additional capacity provided both land and funds were available for these works.

The centre also cited the presence of around 70,000 slums on the dry bed of the river as another reason for the pollution of Yamuna.

Nearly 3.5 lakh people residing in them use the river bed for open defecation which along with the waste water generated from the slums usually go into the river.

"Unless these jhuggies are relocated elsewhere with proper sanitation facilities, it will be difficult to restore the water quality of Yamuna to the desired level," it said.