Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated 19 water and sewerage projects of the Delhi Jal Board, giving an impetus to the ambitious Yamuna rejuvenation project.
These projects mainly involve the upgradation of existing Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) and the laying of new sewer lines under the ‘Sewa Pakhwada’ events at a cost of Rs 1,816 crore. These will significantly enhance Delhi Jal Board’s overall sewage treatment capacity, while earlier the wastewater was entering Yamuna untreated, officials said.
The main inauguration event took place at Keshopur STP, where the DJB is augmenting two of its existing plants at a cost of Rs 504.12 crore. Shah digitally launched the other projects from there.
These plants entail the full sewage load of West Delhi, catering to approximately 25 lakh households, officials said.
“Currently, the Delhi Jal Board has a sewage treatment capacity of around 700 Million Gallons per Day (MGD) from all the 37 existing STPs. The Government plans to increase this to 1,400 MGD,” Delhi Minister for Water Parvesh Verma said.
A total of eight STPs are being upgraded by the Delhi Jal Board at a cost of Rs 1,416.49 crore. These include the Upgradation and Capacity Augmentation of Keshopur Phase-I & III (40 MGD to 60 MGD) at a cost of Rs 504.12 crore, Kondli Phase-IV (45 MGD) Upgradation at Rs 288.38 crore, and Rohini (15 MGD to 25 MGD) Upgradation and Capacity Augmentation for Rs 147.06 crore.
Further STP upgradations are planned for Coronation Pillar Phase-I & II (20 MGD) costing Rs 138.38 crore, Coronation Pillar Phase-III (10 MGD) at Rs 91.79 crore, Narela (10 MGD to 15 MGD) Capacity Augmentation and Upgradation at Rs 104.15 crore, Yamuna Vihar Phase-II (10 MGD to 15 MGD) Capacity Augmentation and Upgradation for Rs 78.90 crore, and Najafgarh (5 MGD) Upgradation at Rs 63.71 crore.
In the drinking water sector, three projects included are the construction of the Palla Underground Reservoir (UGR)/Booster Pumping Station (37.10 ML) for Rs 45.95 crore, the Siraspur UGR/Booster Pumping Station (12.40 ML) for Rs 32.65 crore, and the Bijwasan UGR/Booster Pumping Station (9.1 ML) for Rs 20.50 crore.
Additionally, foundation stones were laid for eight sewer line and house sewer connection projects which include costing Rs 69.97 crore for laying the sewer line in Karawal Nagar, Rs 51.43 crore in Hasanpur, Rs 41.32 crore in Tajpur Khurd, and Rs 29.63 crore for the wastewater pipeline in Yamuna Vihar. Providing house sewer connections will cost Rs 52.93 crore in Ranhoula, Rs 21.86 crore in Gokulpur, Rs 21.17 crore in Vikas Puri, and Rs 12.79 crore in Kamruddin Nagar.
Currently, the DJB has a sewage treatment capacity of around 600-700 million gallons per day (MGD) across all existing STPs. The government plans to increase this capacity to 1,250 MGD by June 2027.
“Together, these projects will significantly enhance Delhi’s ability to ensure clean drinking water, efficient sewage treatment and improved sanitation for lakhs of residents,” Verma said. Shah also digitally inaugurated three new underground reservoirs in Palla, Siraspur and Bijwasan, constructed at the cost of Rs 99.1 crore.
