Yamuna is Delhi’s river. It flows through our city. But it is our shame. This is why we must build the movement to clean the river. But cleaning the river will take each one of us to connect our waste — our flush toilet — with the river. It will begin only if we can change our flush-and-forget mindset.
The fact is that Delhi has already spent a huge amount on cleaning the little stretch of the Yamuna which flows through the city. Some Rs 1,500 crore spent on cleaning this 22-km stretch of the river is possibly the highest in the country, if not the world. But all this has meant little.
The city spends and will spend much more. But it is money down the river as pollution only increases. The river, by all pollution parameters, is dead. It has just not been officially cremated.
Solutions exist. But these will first require us to relearn pollution in the rich cities of poor India. We will then understand that the answer is not in building more sewage treatment capacity or more drains and repairing even more drains to clean the river.
Just think. Delhi has already got 17 sewage treatment plants, which together add up to 40 per cent of the total installed sewage treatment capacity in India. But the fact is that these plants remain grossly underutilized.
Why? Because the city does not have drainage to convey all our excreta to the sewage treatment plants. It is expensive to build sewage drainage but even more expensive to maintain it. Today, the bulk of our city is not connected to underground drainage. It also finds that it can never repair enough. The end result is that where there is a sewage treatment plant, there is no waste to treat.
But that is only part of the story. Worse, we forget that the majority of Delhi lives unconnected to underground drainage in what we call unauthorized and illegal colonies. We forget that these areas will have sewage and that this will flow into open drains criss-crossing the city. But these are the same drains, flowing past colonies, in which the sewage treatment plant disposes of its treated effluent.
So think. In this pollution scheme, the illegal unconnected waste of the majority is being mixed with the treated waste of the minority. The result is obvious: growing pollution in the river. We can never clean Yamuna until we can treat the sewage of all in the city.
The economics of this waste matter is important to grasp. We have to pay first for the water we use and then for the waste we generate. This is because the more water we use in our houses, the more the waste we discharge. The water inequity in Delhi is legendary — parts of the city are water-flushed with over 200 litres per capita and then the rest gets a few drops.
But what we don’t realize is that we who use water and discharge the waste which ends up in the river do not pay the cost of water or its cleaning. Here’s how: It roughly costs Delhi government Rs 8-9 per kilolitre (1000 litres) to supply our water. It costs them five times more to take it back, pump it, pipe it and then treat it. We in Delhi pay nothing more than Rs 2.50 per kilolitre for our water and practically nothing for waste. How then can we get a clean river?
But it is not just the cost that we need to pay. The fact is that all governments (including Delhi) are designing systems that we cannot pay for. These are unaffordable systems to pipe water over long distances, which add to the cost of distribution and, worse, increase the losses of water. Then we design to take back the waste and pump it and pipe it over even longer distances. The cost of electricity for pumping, and even more the exorbitant cost of first building and then maintaining the infrastructure, means that nothing really changes. This is why we have to relearn the science and art of river cleaning. This is why business as usual will not add up to a clean river.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 22, 2010
Flood it with fresh water to give it life (Times of India 20.3.2010)
Yamuna can’t be clean if minimum stipulated flow is not maintained
Never mind the thousands of crores being sunk to clean up the Yamuna. Can it ever become a clean stream if it doesn’t get a steady supply of fresh water and instead gets drain-loads of sewage discharged into it?
It doesn’t require any special knowledge of waterways to answer the question. It’s, of course, NO. And yet hardly anyone is focusing on the fact that the Yamuna is starved of fresh water the moment it enters Delhi’s boundaries, upstream of Wazirabad.
At the Hathnikund Barrage, north of Wazirabad, the river water is diverted into two canals — the eastern Yamuna canal and the western Yamuna canal. The river here is literally sucked dry, its tiniest drop taken out for Delhi’s water requirement.
The next 22-km journey is a nightmare for the Yamuna with tonnes of human and industrial waste being dumped into it. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in an affidavit submitted to court in 1999, said: ‘‘Even if the sewage and industrial effluent presently under various stages of control under the GAP (Ganga action plan) and YAP (Yamuna action plan) are fully treated, the water quality objectives as defined under designated best use criteria of CPCB cannot be achieved in the absence of natural flow in the rivers.’’
The CPCB designated that a minimum flow of 10 cumecs or 864 million litres per day should be maintained in the river as ecological flow. However, this agreement between the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi was maintained only in its breach.
The river has an annual average flow of 12 billion kilolitres and three fourths of it flows during the monsoon. Delhi, which was allocated 724 million kilolitres water in 1994 by the Central Water Commission (CWC), believes that this water should be released to it equally through the year.
The Delhi Jal Board says that Haryana is not even releasing enough water for the city’s drinking needs and hence there is little chance that it would adhere to agreements on keeping the river clean.
‘‘About 95% of the river’s water goes for irrigation and agricultural use. Only 5% or so comes to cities. Most of the 724 million kilolitres of water allocated to us by CWC comes during the monsoon months of July-October. Between March and June, the heaviest months in terms of demand, we get only about 70 million kilolitre. This imbalance has been corrected very slightly by the SC in view of the uniformity of demand of urban areas across various seasons,’’ said Santosh Vaidya, additional CEO, DJB.
In 1996, the Supreme Court had ordered Haryana to ensure that the Wazirabad pond level be maintained at a minimum of 674.5 feet, irrespective of how much water the state released. That order of the apex court is frequently disregarded.
‘‘Haryana needs a lot of water for its irrigation purposes, especially during the summer months when its kharif crop is getting ready. At such times, there is often a tussle between the states on water. Very often the level of the Wazirabad pond drops and supply to several parts of Delhi has to be curtailed. It is not surprising that the Yamuna resembles a river only in the monsoon season when there is surplus water flowing through it,’’ said a senior DJB official.
This is also the reason why officials are pushing for a dam upstream so that the excess monsoon flows can be trapped and released slowly through the year. However, the environment implications of that suggestion are yet to be studied.
Environmentalists have long been asking states to take their responsibility seriously, especially as in a city like Delhi, where even after the interceptor sewage system is in place, all its sewage will not get treated. In its affidavit to the court, DJB had accepted even after the system, restoring the river to class-C bathing quality would be possible only ‘‘if adequate quantity of fresh water is released by the Upper Yamuna River Board’’.
Says water activist Rajendra Singh: ‘‘The Yamuna is not a perennial river and needs to be allowed to revive itself. It can never be clean, despite what any government may do, unless there is fresh water in it to dilute the sewage that we release into it regularly.’’
Desired flow of fresh water in the Yamuna
864
million litres
per day
Actual average flow of water in the river
12
billion kilolitres
annually
Delhi’s annual allocation
724
million kilolitres
Average annual water consumption in Delhi
225
litres
per capita
Estimated Demand in 2021
6,272
million litres per day
DJB’s estimates
NOT A MIRAGE
The river just before Wazirabad. Once it’s tapped for our water supply, it becomes a trickle
Never mind the thousands of crores being sunk to clean up the Yamuna. Can it ever become a clean stream if it doesn’t get a steady supply of fresh water and instead gets drain-loads of sewage discharged into it?
It doesn’t require any special knowledge of waterways to answer the question. It’s, of course, NO. And yet hardly anyone is focusing on the fact that the Yamuna is starved of fresh water the moment it enters Delhi’s boundaries, upstream of Wazirabad.
At the Hathnikund Barrage, north of Wazirabad, the river water is diverted into two canals — the eastern Yamuna canal and the western Yamuna canal. The river here is literally sucked dry, its tiniest drop taken out for Delhi’s water requirement.
The next 22-km journey is a nightmare for the Yamuna with tonnes of human and industrial waste being dumped into it. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in an affidavit submitted to court in 1999, said: ‘‘Even if the sewage and industrial effluent presently under various stages of control under the GAP (Ganga action plan) and YAP (Yamuna action plan) are fully treated, the water quality objectives as defined under designated best use criteria of CPCB cannot be achieved in the absence of natural flow in the rivers.’’
The CPCB designated that a minimum flow of 10 cumecs or 864 million litres per day should be maintained in the river as ecological flow. However, this agreement between the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi was maintained only in its breach.
The river has an annual average flow of 12 billion kilolitres and three fourths of it flows during the monsoon. Delhi, which was allocated 724 million kilolitres water in 1994 by the Central Water Commission (CWC), believes that this water should be released to it equally through the year.
The Delhi Jal Board says that Haryana is not even releasing enough water for the city’s drinking needs and hence there is little chance that it would adhere to agreements on keeping the river clean.
‘‘About 95% of the river’s water goes for irrigation and agricultural use. Only 5% or so comes to cities. Most of the 724 million kilolitres of water allocated to us by CWC comes during the monsoon months of July-October. Between March and June, the heaviest months in terms of demand, we get only about 70 million kilolitre. This imbalance has been corrected very slightly by the SC in view of the uniformity of demand of urban areas across various seasons,’’ said Santosh Vaidya, additional CEO, DJB.
In 1996, the Supreme Court had ordered Haryana to ensure that the Wazirabad pond level be maintained at a minimum of 674.5 feet, irrespective of how much water the state released. That order of the apex court is frequently disregarded.
‘‘Haryana needs a lot of water for its irrigation purposes, especially during the summer months when its kharif crop is getting ready. At such times, there is often a tussle between the states on water. Very often the level of the Wazirabad pond drops and supply to several parts of Delhi has to be curtailed. It is not surprising that the Yamuna resembles a river only in the monsoon season when there is surplus water flowing through it,’’ said a senior DJB official.
This is also the reason why officials are pushing for a dam upstream so that the excess monsoon flows can be trapped and released slowly through the year. However, the environment implications of that suggestion are yet to be studied.
Environmentalists have long been asking states to take their responsibility seriously, especially as in a city like Delhi, where even after the interceptor sewage system is in place, all its sewage will not get treated. In its affidavit to the court, DJB had accepted even after the system, restoring the river to class-C bathing quality would be possible only ‘‘if adequate quantity of fresh water is released by the Upper Yamuna River Board’’.
Says water activist Rajendra Singh: ‘‘The Yamuna is not a perennial river and needs to be allowed to revive itself. It can never be clean, despite what any government may do, unless there is fresh water in it to dilute the sewage that we release into it regularly.’’
Desired flow of fresh water in the Yamuna
864
million litres
per day
Actual average flow of water in the river
12
billion kilolitres
annually
Delhi’s annual allocation
724
million kilolitres
Average annual water consumption in Delhi
225
litres
per capita
Estimated Demand in 2021
6,272
million litres per day
DJB’s estimates
NOT A MIRAGE
The river just before Wazirabad. Once it’s tapped for our water supply, it becomes a trickle
For showpiece Signature Bridge, 1km stretch of Yamuna to be gift-wrapped (Times of India 20.3.2010)
New Delhi: Though a clear and pollution-free Yamuna remains a distant dream for the city, there’s now hope that a small stretch of the waterway will be cleaned up within a few years and made attractive enough for Delhiites to visit and enjoy their river again.
The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) has come up with a novel proposal to clean up the stretch of river from the Wazirabad barrage to a kilometre downstream to help make the yet-to-be-built Signature bridge a tourist destination.
‘‘Since tourists will not come to see the bridge if the river is dirty, we have decided to clean up this stretch. We plan to place a rubber barrage 1km downstream of the existing barrage. Just after the flood season, the barrage will be inflated and water will collect between the Wazirabad barrage and the rubber barrage. In time, this water will clean up naturally. Before the next floods, the rubber barrage will be deflated, the water let out and the process repeated after monsoon. The technology is being used in Andhra Pradesh,’’ said a tourism department official.
There is also a plan to shift the mouth of the Najafgarh drain, which at present empties near Wazirabad barrage, about 600-700m downstream. ‘‘A pipeline will transport all drain water downstream,’’ said a tourism department official.
The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation also plans to use the water collected between the two barrages for water sports. ‘‘But this will be taken up in the second phase since at the moment our priority is to finish the Signature bridge,’’ the official added.
The Signature bridge project was first proposed in 1997 and was originally slated to be completed before the Commonwealth Games. The government now hopes to finish the work by December 2013. But, as a result of the delay, the project cost has escalated to Rs 630 crore from the original estimates of Rs 460 crore.
Signature bridge and its two approach roads, together called the Wazirabad bridge project, will cost the government a total of Rs 1,131 crore. The project includes construction of a main cablestayed bridge, the western and eastern approach roads, pedestrian subways, road signages, landscaping and horticulture work.
The bridge will have a bow-shaped pylon in the middle. Two high towers will be placed on the inner periphery of the carriageway to provide double support. The decks will be composite (steel and concrete) while the pylon will be of steel.
The project was recently revived by the Delhi government after years of indecision. ‘‘For a long time, the project did not get the go-ahead at several Cabinet meetings. Because of the delay, costs have escalated,’’ said a senior government official.
The expenditure on the project has raised eyebrows. ‘‘Had the task of building the bridge been given to any other agency, they might have made a regular bridge. But since we were given the task, we decided to make the bridge a tourist attraction,’’ said a Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation official.
Work on the approach roads is on. The bridge will connect NH-1 on the western bank of the Yamuna to the Khajuri Khas intersection on the eastern bank.
A BRIDGE ACROSS THE RIVER
Construction of bridge will be part of Phase I
Total length 675m, 8 lanes
Main span of the bridge
251m
Height of the single inclined steel pylon 150m (painted)
Revised cost | Rs 630cr (original was Rs 460cr)
Additional work | Eastern and western approaches
Combined cost
Rs 1,131cr
Deadline | Dec 2013
In Phase II, area around the bridge will be developed
Cleaning Yamuna for nearly 1 km downstream of Wazirabad barrage
Creating a 200-acre water body with provision of water sports
Walkway along the western side of Yamuna from Wazirabad to Majnu Ka Tila
The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) has come up with a novel proposal to clean up the stretch of river from the Wazirabad barrage to a kilometre downstream to help make the yet-to-be-built Signature bridge a tourist destination.
‘‘Since tourists will not come to see the bridge if the river is dirty, we have decided to clean up this stretch. We plan to place a rubber barrage 1km downstream of the existing barrage. Just after the flood season, the barrage will be inflated and water will collect between the Wazirabad barrage and the rubber barrage. In time, this water will clean up naturally. Before the next floods, the rubber barrage will be deflated, the water let out and the process repeated after monsoon. The technology is being used in Andhra Pradesh,’’ said a tourism department official.
There is also a plan to shift the mouth of the Najafgarh drain, which at present empties near Wazirabad barrage, about 600-700m downstream. ‘‘A pipeline will transport all drain water downstream,’’ said a tourism department official.
The Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation also plans to use the water collected between the two barrages for water sports. ‘‘But this will be taken up in the second phase since at the moment our priority is to finish the Signature bridge,’’ the official added.
The Signature bridge project was first proposed in 1997 and was originally slated to be completed before the Commonwealth Games. The government now hopes to finish the work by December 2013. But, as a result of the delay, the project cost has escalated to Rs 630 crore from the original estimates of Rs 460 crore.
Signature bridge and its two approach roads, together called the Wazirabad bridge project, will cost the government a total of Rs 1,131 crore. The project includes construction of a main cablestayed bridge, the western and eastern approach roads, pedestrian subways, road signages, landscaping and horticulture work.
The bridge will have a bow-shaped pylon in the middle. Two high towers will be placed on the inner periphery of the carriageway to provide double support. The decks will be composite (steel and concrete) while the pylon will be of steel.
The project was recently revived by the Delhi government after years of indecision. ‘‘For a long time, the project did not get the go-ahead at several Cabinet meetings. Because of the delay, costs have escalated,’’ said a senior government official.
The expenditure on the project has raised eyebrows. ‘‘Had the task of building the bridge been given to any other agency, they might have made a regular bridge. But since we were given the task, we decided to make the bridge a tourist attraction,’’ said a Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation official.
Work on the approach roads is on. The bridge will connect NH-1 on the western bank of the Yamuna to the Khajuri Khas intersection on the eastern bank.
A BRIDGE ACROSS THE RIVER
Construction of bridge will be part of Phase I
Total length 675m, 8 lanes
Main span of the bridge
251m
Height of the single inclined steel pylon 150m (painted)
Revised cost | Rs 630cr (original was Rs 460cr)
Additional work | Eastern and western approaches
Combined cost
Rs 1,131cr
Deadline | Dec 2013
In Phase II, area around the bridge will be developed
Cleaning Yamuna for nearly 1 km downstream of Wazirabad barrage
Creating a 200-acre water body with provision of water sports
Walkway along the western side of Yamuna from Wazirabad to Majnu Ka Tila
Greater Noida land acquisition: farmers hold panchayat, to block work from today (Indian Express 22.3.2010)
Over 1,500 farmers from 16 villages took part in a panchayat held outside the Greater Noida Authority office on Sunday to decide the future course of action in their protest against the state government’s land acquisition policies and rates.
The farmers, who have been protesting at the Authority’s local office for a month, have decided to forcibly stop work undertaken by Greater Noida Authority in the district from Monday. “We will not let the Authority carry out construction work anywhere till our demands are heard,” the farmers said.
The farmers have been demanding a hike in the acquisition rates. “Right now we are getting Rs 711 per sq m, but we demand Rs 2,500 per sq m. The demands also include the implementation of the improved Land Acquisition Act,” Sardaram Bhati, organiser of the panchayat, said.
The other demands include an increase of the percentage of land, allotted to those whose lands have been acquired, from 5 to 25 per cent, as well as 50 per cent reservation of jobs in the industries that come up on the acquired land for families of the farmers.
Getting an opportunity to speak against the state government, several leaders of the BJP, Congress, RLD and Jan Shakti Party flocked the protest venue.
Five companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and additional police force from the Meerut zone were called in by the administration to be deputed in the district. “We are prepared to control any kind of mishap,” District Magistrate Deepak Aggarwal said.
Agarwal assured farmers that their demands will be taken up by Greater Noida Authority officials soon. “The issues will be resolved in a month,” he added.
The farmers, who have been protesting at the Authority’s local office for a month, have decided to forcibly stop work undertaken by Greater Noida Authority in the district from Monday. “We will not let the Authority carry out construction work anywhere till our demands are heard,” the farmers said.
The farmers have been demanding a hike in the acquisition rates. “Right now we are getting Rs 711 per sq m, but we demand Rs 2,500 per sq m. The demands also include the implementation of the improved Land Acquisition Act,” Sardaram Bhati, organiser of the panchayat, said.
The other demands include an increase of the percentage of land, allotted to those whose lands have been acquired, from 5 to 25 per cent, as well as 50 per cent reservation of jobs in the industries that come up on the acquired land for families of the farmers.
Getting an opportunity to speak against the state government, several leaders of the BJP, Congress, RLD and Jan Shakti Party flocked the protest venue.
Five companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary and additional police force from the Meerut zone were called in by the administration to be deputed in the district. “We are prepared to control any kind of mishap,” District Magistrate Deepak Aggarwal said.
Agarwal assured farmers that their demands will be taken up by Greater Noida Authority officials soon. “The issues will be resolved in a month,” he added.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Delhi Govt offers plan for revival of Yamuna (Asian Age 15 March 2010)
In a fresh bid to revive the dying Yamuna, the Delhi government has come up with a novel proposal. It wants the upper riparian states -Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh -to ensure that the 22-km-long stretch of the river flowing through Delhi remains pollution-free. It has come up with a draft bill, which it would like Parliament to pass, to ensure this.
The Yamuna River Development Authority, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by Delhi lieutenant-governor Tejendra Khanna, formulated the draft bill to regulate the release of water into the Yamuna to make it a "running" river instead of a "standing" one as it has been reduced to now.
In a fresh bid to revive the dying river Yamuna in the capital, Delhi government has now come up with a somewhat unprecedented proposal. It wants the upper riparian states too to take responsibility for ensuring that the 22-km long stretch of the river flowing through the capital remains pollutionfree. So, it has come up with a draft bill, which it would like Parliament to pass, so that the upper riparian states share the task of keeping the Yamuna clean.
The Yamuna River Development Authority (YRDA) constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by Delhi lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna has come up with the draft bill which states that the upper riparian states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh too be made accountable in ensuring that there is a prescribed release of water into the Yamuna in order to make it a "running" river instead of the "standing" one that it has been reduced to at present.
While the states, which the proposed legislation wants to make responsible, may resist the move, it appears necessary given that the once magnificent river has been reduced to a dirty stream as it winds its way through the country's capital. The YRDA will be shortly submitting its report to the PM along with a copy of the draft bill, which has been prepared by the law and justice department of the Delhi government, hoping that one day it will get Parliament's nod.
"The draft Bill envisages a two-pronged strategy to revive the 22-km long Yamuna as it passes through Delhi. First, to build reservoirs in the upper riparian states to store rain water which can be released whenever required to ensure a regular flow throughout the year," said sources.
"The second is to physically clean the river in Delhi. A central authority will have to be set up to oversee the construction and functioning of reservoirs in the upper riparian states. A state-level authority will oversee the work of physical cleaning of the river in Delhi," they added. The sources said that once the draft bill takes the form of an Act and steps are taken to implement the law, there would be tangible results by 2013 or 2014, implying that the river's condition would improve dramatically in a span of four years.
The report and the draft bill have been prepared after the technical advisory group of the YRDA and various stakeholders, including numerous NGOs and experts, held several rounds of meetings.
The idea for the legislation to clean the Yamuna has come in the backdrop of the failure of the Yamuna Action Plan I. The government has till now spent over Rs 1,800 crores to clean the river but it failed to yield any tangible results.
However, to initiate the physical cleaning of the river, the Delhi Jal Board plans to set up interceptors for sewers along major drains to reduce the huge flow of domestic waste and industrial effluents into the Yamuna which significantly contribute to its pollution.
The Yamuna River Development Authority, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by Delhi lieutenant-governor Tejendra Khanna, formulated the draft bill to regulate the release of water into the Yamuna to make it a "running" river instead of a "standing" one as it has been reduced to now.
In a fresh bid to revive the dying river Yamuna in the capital, Delhi government has now come up with a somewhat unprecedented proposal. It wants the upper riparian states too to take responsibility for ensuring that the 22-km long stretch of the river flowing through the capital remains pollutionfree. So, it has come up with a draft bill, which it would like Parliament to pass, so that the upper riparian states share the task of keeping the Yamuna clean.
The Yamuna River Development Authority (YRDA) constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and headed by Delhi lieutenant governor Tejendra Khanna has come up with the draft bill which states that the upper riparian states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh too be made accountable in ensuring that there is a prescribed release of water into the Yamuna in order to make it a "running" river instead of the "standing" one that it has been reduced to at present.
While the states, which the proposed legislation wants to make responsible, may resist the move, it appears necessary given that the once magnificent river has been reduced to a dirty stream as it winds its way through the country's capital. The YRDA will be shortly submitting its report to the PM along with a copy of the draft bill, which has been prepared by the law and justice department of the Delhi government, hoping that one day it will get Parliament's nod.
"The draft Bill envisages a two-pronged strategy to revive the 22-km long Yamuna as it passes through Delhi. First, to build reservoirs in the upper riparian states to store rain water which can be released whenever required to ensure a regular flow throughout the year," said sources.
"The second is to physically clean the river in Delhi. A central authority will have to be set up to oversee the construction and functioning of reservoirs in the upper riparian states. A state-level authority will oversee the work of physical cleaning of the river in Delhi," they added. The sources said that once the draft bill takes the form of an Act and steps are taken to implement the law, there would be tangible results by 2013 or 2014, implying that the river's condition would improve dramatically in a span of four years.
The report and the draft bill have been prepared after the technical advisory group of the YRDA and various stakeholders, including numerous NGOs and experts, held several rounds of meetings.
The idea for the legislation to clean the Yamuna has come in the backdrop of the failure of the Yamuna Action Plan I. The government has till now spent over Rs 1,800 crores to clean the river but it failed to yield any tangible results.
However, to initiate the physical cleaning of the river, the Delhi Jal Board plans to set up interceptors for sewers along major drains to reduce the huge flow of domestic waste and industrial effluents into the Yamuna which significantly contribute to its pollution.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Delhi Wastes half the water it gets (Hindustan Times 12 March 2010)
Wasted Water is water fed into the system that doesnt reach consumers
When it comes to wasting treated water, the country's mega cities are the biggest culprits. This, when about 68 per cent of the population has access to piped water supply.
Wasted water, or non-rev- enue water, is water that is fed into the system but does not reach a consumer -- either due to pilferage or because of leakage in pipes.
Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that seven mega cities in the country waste between 13 and 53 per cent of treated water.
Delhi tops the list, wast- ing 52.4 per cent of treated water, followed by Banga- lore (50.9 per cent) and Hyderabad (37.5 per cent).
Mumbai is one of the better performers, where wastage of treated water is 13 per cent, followed by Chennai with 17 per cent.
"The states' water boards/corporations do not have the capacity or the expertise to identify or plug the leakages. Unless leak- ages are fixed, wastage will continue," said V. Srinivas Chary, director, Centre for Energy, Environment, Urban Governance and Infrastructure Development at Hyderabad's Administrative Staff College of India.
When it comes to wasting treated water, the country's mega cities are the biggest culprits. This, when about 68 per cent of the population has access to piped water supply.
Wasted water, or non-rev- enue water, is water that is fed into the system but does not reach a consumer -- either due to pilferage or because of leakage in pipes.
Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that seven mega cities in the country waste between 13 and 53 per cent of treated water.
Delhi tops the list, wast- ing 52.4 per cent of treated water, followed by Banga- lore (50.9 per cent) and Hyderabad (37.5 per cent).
Mumbai is one of the better performers, where wastage of treated water is 13 per cent, followed by Chennai with 17 per cent.
"The states' water boards/corporations do not have the capacity or the expertise to identify or plug the leakages. Unless leak- ages are fixed, wastage will continue," said V. Srinivas Chary, director, Centre for Energy, Environment, Urban Governance and Infrastructure Development at Hyderabad's Administrative Staff College of India.
When it comes to wasting treated water, the country's mega cities are the biggest culprits. This, when about 68 per cent of the population has access to piped water supply.
Wasted water, or non-rev- enue water, is water that is fed into the system but does not reach a consumer -- either due to pilferage or because of leakage in pipes.
Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that seven mega cities in the country waste between 13 and 53 per cent of treated water.
Delhi tops the list, wast- ing 52.4 per cent of treated water, followed by Banga- lore (50.9 per cent) and Hyderabad (37.5 per cent).
Mumbai is one of the better performers, where wastage of treated water is 13 per cent, followed by Chennai with 17 per cent.
"The states' water boards/corporations do not have the capacity or the expertise to identify or plug the leakages. Unless leak- ages are fixed, wastage will continue," said V. Srinivas Chary, director, Centre for Energy, Environment, Urban Governance and Infrastructure Development at Hyderabad's Administrative Staff College of India.
When it comes to wasting treated water, the country's mega cities are the biggest culprits. This, when about 68 per cent of the population has access to piped water supply.
Wasted water, or non-rev- enue water, is water that is fed into the system but does not reach a consumer -- either due to pilferage or because of leakage in pipes.
Saugata Roy, Minister of State for Urban Development told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that seven mega cities in the country waste between 13 and 53 per cent of treated water.
Delhi tops the list, wast- ing 52.4 per cent of treated water, followed by Banga- lore (50.9 per cent) and Hyderabad (37.5 per cent).
Mumbai is one of the better performers, where wastage of treated water is 13 per cent, followed by Chennai with 17 per cent.
"The states' water boards/corporations do not have the capacity or the expertise to identify or plug the leakages. Unless leak- ages are fixed, wastage will continue," said V. Srinivas Chary, director, Centre for Energy, Environment, Urban Governance and Infrastructure Development at Hyderabad's Administrative Staff College of India.
Haryana to release more water for Delhi (Hindu 10 March 2010)
NEW DELHI: Haryana has agreed to release more water for Delhi after the level at Wazirabad pond fell from 674.5 feet to 672.8 feet on Tuesday.
To prevent a huge shortfall in supply, Haryana will release more water from Wednesday, said Delhi Jal Board officials.
Officials were, however, quick to point out that the water supply in the city is still “normal” despite the dip in the Wazirabad pond level.
“There has been a dip in the supply of raw water from Haryana. The State's water needs have gone up because of the agricultural needs at this time of the year, but Delhi has notified them (Haryana) about the dip in the pond level and they have agreed to do the needful,” said an official.
Because of the dip in pond level, the production of water at the Wazirabad water treatment plant has come down from 120 MGD to 93 MGD. Water production at the 90-MGD Chandrawal water treatment plant too has decreased by about 10 MGD.
“We are hopeful that Haryana will release the required quantity of water and the production will be back to normal,” the official said.
If Haryana releases the water on Wednesday, it will reach Delhi in the next 48 hours.
To prevent a huge shortfall in supply, Haryana will release more water from Wednesday, said Delhi Jal Board officials.
Officials were, however, quick to point out that the water supply in the city is still “normal” despite the dip in the Wazirabad pond level.
“There has been a dip in the supply of raw water from Haryana. The State's water needs have gone up because of the agricultural needs at this time of the year, but Delhi has notified them (Haryana) about the dip in the pond level and they have agreed to do the needful,” said an official.
Because of the dip in pond level, the production of water at the Wazirabad water treatment plant has come down from 120 MGD to 93 MGD. Water production at the 90-MGD Chandrawal water treatment plant too has decreased by about 10 MGD.
“We are hopeful that Haryana will release the required quantity of water and the production will be back to normal,” the official said.
If Haryana releases the water on Wednesday, it will reach Delhi in the next 48 hours.
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