Does Delhi need more facilities to treat industrial wastewater? NEERI to begin study from Feb 6

Delhi has 13 CETPs with a capacity to treat over 200 MLD (million liters per day) of waste, yet only about 30% of this capacity is utilised, according to data from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

Much of the focus of the NEERI study is on Delhi’s non-conforming industrial areas — clusters where industries
operate in zones that were never planned for industrial activity as per the city’s Master Plan, and therefore lack organised sewerage and treatment infrastructure.

According to DSIIDC officials, 27 such non-conforming industrial areas, spread over nearly 2,000 hectare, have been identified for assessment. Layout plans for 20 of these areas have already been prepared and submitted to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for approval, they added.

“NEERI will look at the type of industries, wastewater quantity and nature of effluents. Based on that, they will recommend whether CETPs are required, or whether individual effluent treatment plants and better conveyance systems are sufficient,” an official from DSIIDC said. “At best, the requirement could be for two to five CETPs, mainly in larger non-conforming clusters where dyeing, chemical and similar units are concentrated,” the official added.

According to the official, while exemption from environmental clearance would help reduce procedural delays, setting up new CETPs would still involve multiple steps. “Land availability is a major hurdle. Most industrial land is privately owned. Industrial associations have to come forward to provide land, and land use has to conform to the Master Plan. Approvals from land-owning
agencies such as DDA are also required.”

Delhi has more than 24,000 industrial units across 28 approved industrial areas, of which about 22,000 units in 17 areas are connected to CETPs, as per DPCC data. Of the roughly 1,000 water-polluting units in these approved areas, nearly 85% are located in CETP-connected clusters, while the rest operate with individual effluent treatment plants.

“Development of infrastructure can happen only after layout plans are approved. Then can sewer lines, drainage systems and additional CETPs be planned,” a DPCC official said.

According to DPCC, most units in these industrial clusters do not result in water pollution. “Nearly 90-95% of units in non-conforming industrial areas are dry industries. There are very few water-polluting units,” the official said.

Dr Fawzia Tarannum, environmental researcher and policy analyst, said, “Whether wastewater bypasses CETPs or passes through plants that cannot handle pollutant load, the end result is contamination reaching Yamuna… One reason behind this is missing or non-functional conveyance lines. Also, CETPs are designed for a particular type of wastewater and cannot handle heavy metals and complex chemicals.” She added that new CETPs may need to be built in some locations, but upgrading existing plants and fixing pipeline networks should be the first priority.

Tarannum said that many of Delhi’s small and medium enterprises clustered along drains that outfall into Yamuna include metal finishing, electroplating, dyeing, textile processing and chemical units, which generate effluents containing heavy metals, oil, grease, ammonia and other toxic substances. It is necessary to identify and set up individual treatment effluent plants, she added.

Delhi-based Yamuna activist Pankaj Kumar said the Centre’s exemption from environmental clearance may remove one layer of procedural delay, but the larger challenge remains unaddressed. “This will help in secondary infrastructure, but unless existing CETPs are upgraded and discharge standards are strictly enforced, the impact on the Yamuna will remain limited,” he said.