The Delhi Government is going to set up small sewage treatment plants (STPs) across the National Capital to treat sewage and recharge groundwater at minimal cost. The direction given by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday came a day after he took over the charge of water department.
He visited three decentralised STPs in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area and asked the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to come up with a road map for decentralised STPs all over Delhi.
"Small STPs in large nos controlled by locals will be set up across Del to treat sewage n recharge groundwater at minimal cost (Sic)," Kejriwal tweeted. The Chief Minister has asked the DJB to come with a road map for decentralised STPs all over Delhi.
"DJB will present the road map to the Chief Minister on Friday on STPS in all colonies of Delhi and institutions with a special focus on the unauthorised colonies which face the woes of sewage the most," said an official.
A statement from the Government said the decentralised STPs would not only solve the crisis faced due to sewage, but will also produce huge amount of recycled water, it stated.
Kejriwal visited STPs in Nehru Park, Satya Sadan and N P Bengali Government School in Gole Market on Tuesday morning.
The Chief Minister has taken away the Water portfolio from Rajender Pal Gautam and kept it with himself. The announcement was made on Monday while the Chief Minister also called for an urgent meeting of the DJB on the same day. The water supply issue within Delhi is believed to be the reason behind the Chief Minister's decision to take reins of this critical department.
The Chief Minister asked for the current status of water supply in all the colonies of Delhi on the very first day of holding the charge in a meeting. "The DJB has been asked to furnish a report on timing of water supply in every colony, the duration of supply and problems faced, including water contamination. They have been asked to come up with a deadline for the resolution of the problems," said an official.
The Chief Minister also ensured that the procurement of sewer cleaning machines should be done at the earliest.
Atleast 10 people died in Delhi at different location while manually cleaning the drains. "The DJB says it is already in the process of procuring 200 small machines and 8 large machines. There are 40 STPs that are fully functional,” the official added.