100% treatment of sewage and industrial effluents recommended
The High Powered Committee on water pollution has suggested 100 per cent treatment of sewage and industrial effluent within three years so that no untreated industrial effluent enters Yamuna. It has also recommended removal of encroachment on floodplains of Yamuna as a part of long-term measures framed to help check water pollution. It also suggested optimum utilisation of treated waste water from Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), prevention of dumping of solid waste in drains, utilisation of treated wastewater, rationalisation of charges to incentivise sewer connections, making land available for treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous and demolition waste and notification of sanitation bye laws as short-term measures to check water pollution. There are 32 STPs, having capacity of treating of 600 million gallons of water per day across the city in 17 locations. Besides, there are 13 CETPs in the city. The committee has recommended that as several unauthorised colonies have come up, including some on the Yamuna riverbed, there is need to set up decentralised sewage treatment plants in these unsewered areas. The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has already issued directions for installing online monitoring systems, CCTV cameras for large units by March 2015. The local bodies apart from construction of boundary walls/wire meshes along the drains and Yamuna river bridges should also increase the number of dhalao, so that solid waste does not get dumped in drains and the river. As per recommendations, the existing sanitation bylaws should be amended for making them more stringent against violators. “In order to conserve water and check leakages, water efficient fixtures in all Government buildings should be implemented at the earliest. The VAT rate should be charged at nominal rate,” it said. The committee has also recommended that Delhi Jal Board should rationalise its sewer connection charges to encourage people for sewer connections.