India News | To Reduce Pollution in Yamuna, Delhi Govt to Provide Free Sewer Connections

New Delhi, Jun 12 (PTI) The Delhi government on Friday said it will provide free household sewer connections to ensure that no untreated sewage flows into stormwater drains.

Untreated sewage is one of the main reasons behind the high pollution level in the Yamuna in Delhi. Industrial pollution makes up for 10-20 percent of its pollution load.

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The Delhi Jal Board has also decided to provide treated waste water to government agencies free of cost. Earlier, they would purchase it from sewage treatment plants at Rs 7 per liter.  

These decisions were taken at a meeting of the Delhi Jal Board chaired by Water Minister Satyendar Jain.

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The water utility said the decision to provide free sewer connections will improve capacity utilization of STPs.

"It will improve hygiene and sanitation in such colonies and directly impact the water quality of the Yamuna," the DJB said in a statement.

"To promote utilisation of this treated water and to conserve precious potable and groundwater, the DJB has decided to waive the charges on treated water," the statement said.

At present, the STPs in Delhi treat 500 million gallons of wastewater per day, of which only 90 MGD is reused for various purposes.

The DJB also approved a plan to rejuvenate 24 more water bodies in the national capital.

This is besides 36 other water bodies for which contracts have already been awarded to start work on the ground.

"This will not only reduce load on the local sewerage network but also ensure ground water recharge happens throughout the year. Currently these water bodies are either dry or contaminated with sewage creating health hazardous conditions for local residents along with causing ground contamination," the DJB said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)