9,000cr allocated to fix water, sewer woes; focus on Yamuna cleanup

New Delhi: CM Rekha Gupta Tuesday laid out an expansive roadmap to strengthen Delhi’s water supply and sewerage systems, with a clear focus on cleaning the Yamuna.

An allocation of Rs 9,000 crore has been made for DJB to upgrade water and sewer infrastructure and improve service delivery. Gupta said strengthening these systems is key not only to better living standards, but also to ensuring that untreated waste no longer flows into the Yamuna.

Central to this strategy is a significant expansion of sewage treatment capacity. Delhi govt said STP capacity has already been increased from 707 MGD to 814 MGD, alongside the laying of 180km of new sewer lines and replacement of 110km in the past year. The long-term target is to scale this capacity up to 1,500 MGD, supported by the approval of 35 decentralised STPs and a proposal for 10 more plants, as per the budget.

Additionally, a new Rs 1,500-crore scheme, ‘GIA to DJB for Capital Sewer Projects’, funded through the National Mission for Clean Ganga, has been proposed for constructing 480 MGD of decentralised STPs, especially at the mouths of drains that discharge into the Yamuna. “This intervention is expected to ensure that sewage is treated before entering the river, directly addressing one of the key sources of pollution,” said an official.

CM said all sewer lines and drains will be connected to STPs so that wastewater is treated before reaching the Yamuna, making the river cleaner and healthier.

Several water supply projects have also been announced. New underground reservoirs at Rajokri, Bijwasan, Siraspur and Palla are set to become operational while construction of a 50 MGD water treatment plant in Dwarka is being expedited. Expansion of 12.7km of transmission lines and 172km of distribution pipelines is expected to increase water supply by 10 MGD, with a further target of 36 MGD.

Efforts are also underway to reduce non-revenue water from 45% to 15% and to ensure tap water access to every household, said officials. Non-revenue water is treated water that is produced but lost before reaching customers, or lost through theft/billing errors, representing a major financial loss for water utilities and a waste of resources.

Meanwhile, major treatment plant upgrades are underway, including the Chandrawal water treatment plant project, backed by a Rs 475-crore allocation, which is expected to benefit nine assembly constituencies. Another proposed project at Wazirabad water treatment plant, to be funded primarily by Asian Development Bank, aims to improve water distribution across 10 constituencies in north Delhi.

The budget also addresses Delhi’s ageing drainage system, which is over 50 years old and has contributed to chronic waterlogging. A Drainage Master Plan has been rolled out, with several projects already approved. These include a Rs 387-crore drain construction project on MB Road and a Rs 221-crore trunk drain project along a railway line to address waterlogging in parts of west Delhi.