Delhi govt to take over industrial effluent treatment plants to curb Yamuna pollution

The Delhi government will empanel agencies to operate, maintain and monitor centralised effluent treatment plants (CETPs) at its 11 industrial areas to prevent pollutants from entering the Yamuna, officials said on Thursday.

The agencies, to be appointed through bidding process, will undertake round-the-clock operation, comprehensive maintenance, monitoring, management and statutory-compliance support of CETPs assigned by the Delhi State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC).

The CETPs are located at Nariana, Badli, Wazirpur, Nangloi, GT Karnal Road, Jhilmil and other industrial areas, officials said. These CETPs are currently run by registered societies of the industrial areas concerned.

The CETPs will be operated by the appointed agency to achieve discharge standards prescribed by the Delhi Pollution Control Board, Central Pollution Control Board, environment ministries and other authorities.

The agencies will monitor influent and treated-effluent quality, conduct jar tests and optimise chemical dosing, maintain appropriate pH and dissolved oxygen, besides undertaking settling, filtration and chlorination.

Preventive and corrective action for abnormal influent, shock load, toxic discharge, odour, foaming, sludge bulking, high amount of suspended solids, biological oxygen demand (BOD) exceedance or other process failure, will also be undertaken by it, officials added.

CETPs for treatment of industrial effluent is a vital environmental infrastructure. Continuous operation and proper maintenance of CETPs are essential to maintain prescribed effluent quality standards and provide uninterrupted service to industries.

The operation and maintenance of the CETPs require specialised technical expertise, qualified manpower, and experience in handling wastewater treatment processes, electro mechanical equipment, instrumentation, laboratory operations among other areas.