India's largest STP at Okhla will stop 56.4cr litres of sewage from entering Yamuna daily, says Jain

New Delhi: Water Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday announced that work on the country's largest wastewater treaatment plant at Okhla, with a capacity to treat 546MLD, had started and was slated to be completed by the end of next year. "India's largest STP will have a capacity to treat 56.4 crores litres of wastewater per day," Jain said.

He added that his government's aim is to discharge only treated water into the Yamuna.

The Water Minister visited the construction site at Okhla which will be spread over an area of 110 acres. The STP will likely be completed by the end of 2022 and after its completion, major flows of sewage that go into the Yamuna will get treated and then used for rejuvenating underground water reserves while the rest will be discharged into the Yamuna.

"After its construction, the STP will stop 564 MLD of sewage from flowing into the Yamuna by treating to the latest norms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) 10 mg/L and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) 10 mg/L with nutrient removal," Jain said. The treated water will be fit to be utilised for various non-potable purposes like gardening, lakes rejuvenation, washing, and flushing.

The STP will receive the sewage from various drains and sewerage networks of South and Central Delhi. The plant will have a solar drying system for around 150 Ton of sludge, spread over 12 acres, the government said in a statement.

Advanced suction-based clarifiers are also being used to improve the removal of solid particles from wastewater. The treated water from the STP will be utilised for various purposes, such as in groundwater recharge in Asola Bhatti Mines and surrounding areas, rejuvenating lakes, water bodies and surplus water will be released into the Yamuna.

There are two existing STPs of 72 MLD and 136 MLD which will continue to function in the Okhla STP complex. This will make the total treatment capacity of the Okhla STP complex to 771 MLD.