NEW DELHI, October 22 (Aalimi Nation) – Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 43 Delhi Jal Board projects worth about Rs 8,941 crore, aimed at keeping untreated sewage out of the Yamuna through the capital's drains.
Officials said ten projects costing Rs 2,827.11 crore were inaugurated, while foundation stones were laid for 33 more worth Rs 6,114.11 crore. The works are scheduled to be completed in roughly two to two-and-a-half years, after which the government expects no untreated wastewater from Delhi to flow into the river through drains.
Yamuna cleaning projects: what is planned
The largest single item is a 124 million gallons per day sewage treatment plant at Okhla, costing Rs 1,161 crore. Eight existing treatment plants are to be upgraded at a cost of Rs 1,041 crore, raising their combined capacity from 78.2 to 140.8 million gallons per day and serving about 78.5 lakh people, according to the project details.
In outer Delhi, 29 decentralised sewage treatment plants and pumping stations will be built for Rs 3,113.67 crore. They will cover 358 unauthorised colonies and 113 villages and are expected to benefit around 36.29 lakh residents. Decentralised plants are meant for areas where there is no space for large treatment facilities.
The package also includes 1,034 kilometres of new sewer lines costing Rs 1,691 crore to connect areas that currently have no sewerage. A 477 million litres per day water treatment plant at Chandrawal, costing Rs 298.3 crore, will serve about 22 lakh people and replace facilities built in 1935 and 1955. A 4.5-kilometre trunk drain at Mundka will cost Rs 225.02 crore.
What ministers said
Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma said cleaning riverbanks and ghats alone would not restore the river. "Cleaning the riverbanks and ghats alone will not restore the Yamuna," he said, arguing that the flow of sewage into the river has to be stopped at its source.
Shah credited Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Verma for their efforts on the Yamuna, according to officials present at the event. Verma said the government expects visible improvement in about a year and a half, with larger changes once all projects are complete.
He also asked residents to take three pledges: dispose of household waste only at designated places, make sure every home has a legal sewer connection, and avoid wasting water.
Background: Chalo Yamuna campaign
The launch came days after a citizen cleanup drive on October 18, when more than 35,000 people took part in the "Chalo Yamuna" campaign at 70 locations along both banks of the river. The Delhi government said volunteers removed 76,755 kg of dry waste and 9,850 kg of green waste and water hyacinth.
With the foundation stones laid, the Delhi Jal Board will move to the construction phase of the 33 new projects, while the ten inaugurated works begin operating. Officials said progress will be tracked against the two-to-two-and-a-half-year timeline. Residents of unauthorised colonies and outer-Delhi villages, many of whom currently rely on septic tanks or open drains, are among those expected to see the first direct benefits as sewer lines and local plants come up.
