Years on,crores gone,Yamuna plan gets new deadline: 2010

As YAP I did precious little for Yamuna,particularly for the river’s 22-km stretch in Delhi,YAP II was developed in December 2004 under which a few new towns polluting the river in Uttar Pradesh were identified. November 2009 was the completion date of the project.

“Major projects of YAP II in Delhi are underway,and over 30 per cent work has been completed,” Santosh Vaidya,additional CEO of DJB,told Newsline. “DJB wishes to complete the projects by March 2010.” Newsline looks at the projects the agency is working on.

What is the DJB doing?
The agency has taken up projects under three broad categories that could help the now ‘dead’ river. These projects include rehabilitation of trunk sewers,and rehabilitation and augmentation of the treatment capacity of the two sewage treatment plants in the city. The agency plans a public advocacy and outreach programme to generate awareness about the importance of a clean river.

Trunk sewer work
Delhi has a 130-km network of trunk sewers,some of which were laid as far back as 1919 and need repair. There are 1,500 unauthorised colonies,1,080 JJ clusters,44 unauthorised-regularised colonies and 27 urban villages in Delhi,which are not connected with the sewerage system. Also,in several colonies sewerage flows through open storm water drains,which ultimately pollutes the river.

Rehabilitation of Ring Road Sewer
According to Vaidya,the Ring Road sewer was built by the British for additional overflow of sewage. “But over the years,this has got silted. Work is on to de-silt the sewer and increase its life by another 40 years by building an internal line up using latest technology,” Vaidya said.

Location of the Ring Road Sewer
A significant factor behind the malfunctioning of the Ring Road Trunk sewer is its location — very close to Yamuna amid a running sand strata and high ground water level. A significant soil settlement is evident at random levels along its length,in particular in the section between Rajghat and Bhairon Temple at Old Fort. “It is felt that the failure of the collar joints of the RCC pipes is the principal cause of infiltration,drawing soil from the side fills and pipe bedding to the sewer,leading to settlement of both the pipeline with loss of grade and the ground surface. This has led to massive silt depositions in some sections of the sewer,” a DJB official explained.

Bela Road Sewer
This sewer runs along the Boulevard Road,and has been clogged and become dysfunctional over the years. The sewer appears to have sunk at many places and does not have adequate gradients. As a result,the sewage is diverted and discharged into the storm water drains at several places. “It is proposed to upsize and build a new sewer to serve the drainage area. It is proposed that major portions of the sewer would be constructed through trench-less,microtunneling and pipe-jacking methods,” an official explained.

Wazirabad Road Sewer
This is a new trunk sewer to be constructed along the built up areas of the Wazirabad Road. This sewer will provide public sewage facilities to residents in this drainage area. “This sewer has been newly constructed and will carry sewage for treatment at the Yamuna Vihar Waste Water Treatment Plant,” Vaidya said.

Sewage Treatment Plants
The DJB has 15 functional sewage treatment plants of which rehabilitation and augmentation work is being done at two — Keshopur and Okhla sewage treatment plants — under YAP II,which would substantially reduce pollution in the river. “Keshopur STP is the oldest in Delhi and needs to be rectified and refurbished. The work is on. With a phenomenal increase sewage generation in South Delhi,especially after the commissioning of Sonia Vihar Plant,the DJB has taken up a new project at the 140 MGD Okhla STP. The capacity of the STP is being augmented by 30 MGD,” Vaidya said.

Public participation and awareness
Advocacy and outreach programmes are to be carried out in six regions of Delhi by engaging six partner NGOs. This component seeks to target community and neighbourhood groups,resident welfare associations,market welfare associations and chaupals falling in unsewered areas like unauthorised colonies,JJ clusters and rural villages.

Increasing costs
While the initial estimates projected the cost of projects in Delhi at Rs 387.17 crore,the delays in various projects have increased the cost to Rs 450 crore. “The increased cost is being borne by DJB,” Vaidya said.