Indirapuram sewage plant faces closure, fight for clean Yamuna gets tougher

Almost 74 million litres of untreated sewage may end up flowing into the Yamuna on a daily basis if the sewage treatment plant (STP) in Indirapuram is closed due to non-payment of maintenance fee. The private body in charge of running the plant has not been receiving payment from The Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam for two years now. As per reports, a payment of Rs. 30 crore is still pending and the STP faces closure if authorities fail to make the payment.

The plant, which is located in Indirapuram, Ghaziabad, has the capacity to dispose around 74 million litres of sewage water in a single day. The plant was set up in February 2013 after the Supreme Court questioned the Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and Haryana government on incessant pollution of the river.

The level of pollution in Yamuna has already touched alarming levels. The water in the river has been declared unfit for drinking and bathing purpose by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). Despite close to Rs. 1,500 crore already been spent to clean up the river under the Yamuna Action Plan since 1994, the river has shown little or no signs of recovery.

Yamuna meets Delhi’s 70 per cent water requirement and is crucial to the national capital in every way. If the STP in Indirapuram  closes down, it will take about two to three months for the plant to start functioning again. This is because the bacteria that help in degradation of biological matter in the sewage need a typical atmosphere to survive. Hence, workers at the STP will have to start afresh if the plant stops operations.