Clean Yamuna initiative,Delhi’s largest STP at Okhla to commence trial run around Diwali.
Delhi’s largest sewage treatment plant in Okhla, designed to release 564 million liters of treated water daily into the polluted Yamuna River, is finally commencing trial runs this November after delays and missed deadlines. The Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, G Asok Kumar, has confirmed the completion of the project, with water inflow set to begin on November 15. The Okhla STP is one of the largest in India and Asia, initially expected to be finished by December 2023 but later extended to July of this year due to issues with the Delhi government. Although treated water release starts in November, stabilization will take a few weeks, with sludge treatment and biogas generation potentially beginning by March next year. The efforts aim to improve the severely polluted Yamuna River’s water quality within Delhi, especially during the festive season in November when it becomes visibly polluted. Other STPs like Rithala and Kundli have already started trials, and the NMCG is dedicated to cleaning the Yamuna and its tributaries, including the Hindon River. Multiple STPs are planned to enhance water quality, with the goal of substantially improving the entire Ganga system’s cleanliness by 2025. Twelve projects are underway under Namami Gange to treat over 1,200 MLD of sewage in Delhi to combat Yamuna’s pollution. The NMCG uses the PRAYAG online dashboard to monitor the performance of over 100 STPs in real-time to ensure they meet their designed standards.
