Kejriwal promises clean Yamuna by 2025, formulates 6-point action plan

New Delhi, Nov 18 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday reiterated his promise of providing a clean Yamuna to the people of the national capital and said that the river will get cleaned before the 2025 Assembly polls, due in February.

"Yamuna is close to everyone in Delhi. It is the lifeline of Delhi. Everyone wants to see a clean Yamuna. It took 70 years to dirty the Yamuna which cannot be cleaned in two days. For this, we have come up with six specific action points to clean Yamuna before the next assembly elections in Delhi. I am personally monitoring it," Kejriwal said in a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

Explaining the six-point action plan, Kejriwal said, "First, new sewer treatment plants are being built. At present, New Delhi can treat only about 600MGD (million gallons per day) of sewage as a result of which a lot of sewage is left untreated and released directly into the Yamuna."

The chief minister said that the city actually needs sewage treatment plants (STPs) with a total capacity of 800-850 MGD.

"We are doing three things on this front. First, we are setting up new sewage treatment plants like the coronation plant and the ones being built at Okhla, Kondli, Rithala and other places. Second, we are increasing the capacity of the existing plants. Third, the existing plants are operating with old technology because of which even treated water is dirty. We will upgrade the technology to ensure treated water that is released is of 10/10 purity, he said.

"Fourth, the slums or the jhuggi-jhopri clusters of Delhi rely on Jan Suvidha or Public Convenience Complexes. At many places the drainage connections of these complexes have been wrongly connected to the storm water drains, meant to carry rainwater runoff and not sewage, instead of the sewer system. We will change this system. All the output will be connected to the sewer system so it can get treated," he added.

"Fifth, there are a lot of areas in Delhi which have the facility of a full fledged functional sewer network. The Delhi government will step forward and connect each and every household to the sewer network. There will be no need of filing an application or getting the connection done yourself. We have also reduced the charges significantly and whatever nominal charges would be there for the connection, will be adjusted with your monthly bills."

"And sixth, the entire sewer network of Delhi is being desilted and rehabilitated to ensure that it functions to the best of its capabilities," Kejriwal said.