National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) through its Namami Gange project is aiming to clean the river Yamuna.
A nearly 22 km stretch of Yamuna has been identified and the authorities are on mission mode to stop sewage flow into the river, because Yamuna, being the largest tributary of India’s most pious river Ganga not just appears stagnant but also rotten due to the colossal amount of dirt, dust and untreated filth that have fallen directly into the river. “If we look at it, the flow of Yamuna…up to where the Chambal joins, it is very bad because there is a lot of pollution coming to the sector. It gets purified only after the Chambal joins, which later joins and that water goes and meets at Ganga. So, the most difficult part or the most polluted stretch of River Yamuna is 22 kilometers in the Delhi area, which does not see any flow because it is basically stagnant water and there is no additional water coming into it,” said G Asok Kumar, Director General of National Mission for Clean Ganga on Friday.
“We are now trying to focus on getting this Yamuna water clean. In Delhi, there are about 18 Nullahs, which flow into this 22 km stretch, which brings in a lot of water”, said G Asok Kumar.
He added, “Dirty water from Haryana comes in, dirty water from UP comes in and a lot of water from Delhi comes in the total sewage that is generated out of Delhi is around 3,200 megaliters per day (MLD), out of which the capacity to treat is 2,600. We have 24 STPs that treat around 2600 MLD and there is a gap of around 650 MLD. So, this has to be addressed”.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga has initiated setting up of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) across the city.
One of the biggest STPs, Coronation Pillar Sewage Treatment Plant in Delhi was recently visited by senior officials from the NMCG to take stock of the ongoing construction work.
This STP will treat 318 MLD of wastewater at an estimated cost of Rs. 515 crore, out of which 414 crore is the capital cost.
The 50 per cent of the capital cost is borne by National Mission for Clean Ganga.
The NMCG chief said, “What have done in last few years since the Namami Gange formed, we have sanctioned 23 projects in the Yamuna sector for about 4,200 Crore to look after the issues of pollution in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh sector, so that the entire stretch of Yamuna is cleaned up”.