A National Green Tribunal-appointed Yamuna Monitoring Committee has rapped the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) for missing several deadlines for commissioning of the Interceptor Sewer Project and new sewer treatment plants. These projects will help reduce pollution in the river.
NEW DELHI: The committee consists of just two members; namely retired NGT expert member BS Sajwan and former Delhi chief secretary, Shailaja Chandra. The committee met with DJP officials recently. They were informed that the target date for the completion of Interceptor Sewer Project (ISP) had been revised several times in wake of missing deadlines. The ISP aims to trap sewage from smaller drains that fall into the three main drains, which, in turn, flow into the Yamuna.
“There is no sanctity to the timelines given which are altered repeatedly with no sense of responsibility. The DJB must give convincing reasons for missing deadlines,” the panel said.It has also asked RS Tyagi, former expert member (drainage), DJB, and Delhi Technological University to conduct an independent technical audit of the project to assess the progress achieved so far and work that remains to be done.
Apart from 108 drains covered under the ISP, the DJB has no plans to trap the sewage from another 204 smaller drains, the NGT panel said. The DJB told the panel that the Coronation Pillar sewage treatment plant (STP), which has the capacity to treat 70 million gallons of sewage per day, will be ready only by March 2020.