564 MLD wastewater plant in Okhla ready, to help clean Yamuna

NEW DELHI: The wastewater treatment facility at Okhla, with a capacity of 564 MLD and developed by Delhi Jal Board, is now fully functional.

Water minister Parvesh Verma said on Wednesday that the plant will benefit approximately 40 lakh people living in Old Delhi, central Delhi, NDMC areas and south Delhi.

"Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are taking solid and decisive steps through state-of-the-art water treatment systems to make the Yamuna clean and free our city's drains of sewage," he said. "Our mission is to transform Delhi into a clean, sustainable and responsible capital," he added.

The Okhla STP (Sewage Treatment Plant) project, a joint venture between the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Delhi Jal Board, began in 2017. Since June 2024, around 40 megalitres per day (MLD) of treated water from this facility is being used across various parts of Delhi for horticulture.

The govt, in a statement, said: "The plant generates 4.8 megawatts of green energy from sludge biogas, which fulfills around 50 per cent of its total energy requirements."

"The Class-A quality sludge produced as a by-product is odourless, pathogen-free, and safe to use as organic fertiliser or soil conditioner. This is the first plant in India to produce Class-A sludge," DJB has said.

The govt said the plant will also be helpful in cleaning the Yamuna as the treated water from the plant will be discharged back into the river. Around 132 MLD of sewage waste from the Barapullah and Maharani Bagh drains will also be treated in this plant before being released into the Yamuna, significantly reducing the flow of untreated sewage, it added.

"Currently, the treated water is being discharged into the Old Agra Canal. Soon, it will be diverted into the Yamuna downstream of the Okhla Barrage via the Abul Fazal drain. Construction work is on for this," it said.