16 more DSTPs in pipeline to curb Yamuna pollution, govt. to award contracts by July

The Delhi authorities plans to grant contracts for operation of 16 much decentralised sewage attraction plants (DSTPs) by July arsenic portion of its Yamuna-cleaning inaugural and to ramp up the city’s sewage attraction capacity, an authoritative told The Hindu.

DSTPs are considered important to cleaning the Yamuna arsenic they are expected to dainty sewage generated successful respective unauthorised colonies that presently flows into the stream owed to the deficiency of sewer networks. Work for 13 DSTPs was awarded pursuing a tender process successful May. With the summation of the 16 caller plants, the full attraction capableness of the DSTPs is expected to scope 170 cardinal gallons per time (MGD).

“The tender for the 16 DSTPs has already been floated, and the process is nether mode to grant the enactment to selected backstage companies by July,” the authoritative said this week. The task forms an important portion of the government’s program to cleanable the Yamuna.

In July past year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a gathering connected the river’s rejuvenation and directed the Delhi authorities to astir treble its sewage attraction capableness to 1,500 MGD by 2028. The DSTP task has been pending for years, with the non-availability of onshore emerging arsenic a large hurdle.

Political tussle

The contented was compounded by a tussle betwixt the erstwhile Aam Aadmi Party authorities successful Delhi and the BJP-led Centre, arsenic overmuch of the required onshore is nether the Centre’s control.

Through DSTPs, the authorities plans to dainty sewage adjacent to the root of generation. Currently, Delhi’s 37 larger sewage attraction plants (STPs) are successful distant parts of the metropolis and necessitate sewage to beryllium transported done extended sewer networks and pipelines for treatment.

DSTPs, successful contrast, volition beryllium built connected smaller parcels of onshore and linked to clusters of adjacent unauthorised colonies, which volition trim the request to transport sewage implicit agelong distances.

The AAP authorities had initiated plans to physique DSTPs successful 2015, but the task failed to instrumentality disconnected for galore reasons, including the deficiency of disposable land. The fig of DSTPs was aboriginal reduced from 48 to 40 during the AAP’s tenure, and from 34 aft the BJP came to powerfulness past twelvemonth to 29 now.

“The fig of DSTPs has been reduced to 29, but they volition screen the aforesaid areas planned earlier due to the fact that their capacities person been increased,” the authoritative said.

The authorities is targeting completion of each 29 DSTPs by January 2028 and the associated sewer networks by June 2028.