The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Thursday released a note on “What ails the Yamuna”. It also gave solutions to clean the river, including the need to reduce Delhi’s own water demand and build water harvesting systems for capturing rainwater for discharge in the lean season to maintain the flow of the river.
The Yamuna is extremely polluted, and currently the levels of faecal coliform (microbes from human and animal excreta) in the river is beyond accepted levels at all points except Palla, where the river enters Delhi. At some points, the river pollution is as high as 760 times the accepted level, as per Government figures.
“As per latest [2018] available estimates, Delhi has already spent over ₹1,500 crore for cleaning the river; this does not take into account the cost of the common effluent treatment plants that have been built in the city. This is possibly the highest amount spent on river cleanin g in the country. But it has not worked, as is evident from the pollution data,” the CSE said.
As per the note, Delhi has already built 17 sewage treatment plants (STPs), which together adds up to 40% of the total installed sewage treatment capacity in India. “But these plants remain grossly underutilised. The city does not have the drainage to convey al l its excreta to the treatment plants,” the statement said.
The CSE said that all Governments, including that of Delhi, are designing systems that people cannot pay for. “These are unaffordable systems to pipe water across long distances, which add to the cost of distribution and worse, increase water loss. Then, we design to take back the waste and pump it and pipe it even longer distances. Thus, there is a need to relearn the science and art of river cleaning. Business as usual will not result in a clean river,” it said.
