Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
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Only one-third of the urban households are connected to
a sewerage system.
Only one-third of total wastewater generated is collected
in Class I and Class II cities. Only 300-odd cities in India are
estimated to have a sewerage network in place. For a set of
1,400 cities, collection efficiency is merely 10 percent.
Sewerage networks, where they exist, are badly
maintained. There are frequent blockages, siltation,
missing manhole covers, and gully pits. There is hardly
any preventive maintenance, and repairs are made only
in case of crises. Often storm water enters sewers, which
are not designed to take these loads, leading to overflow
onto the surrounding areas. Improper disposal of solid
waste also tends to block sewer lines (Wankhade, 2015).
There is a significant cost associated with its set up, and
adds to the overall cost of centralised treatment setup.
These costs cannot be generalised as it depends on the
size and density of the city.
Often, the STP is set up but the sewage collection
network lags behind, resulting in highly under-loaded
operation of the STPs for a prolonged number of years.
During this phase, although the STP is available, sewage
continues to get disposed outside of the network.
At any point in time there are risks of leaks in the sewage
network. This can add to the already existing risk of
groundwater contamination by sewage loaded with
pathogens and nutrients. The same breach provides an
access point for storm water into the sewer network
during rains, which leads to overloading the STP.
Sometimes sewage networks are set up but the
population build-up to contribute to the sewage is
Annexures
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