The Delhi government’s decision to set up a 31 MGD water treatment plant at Palla on the Yamuna floodplain has evoked strong opposition from environmentalists.
“This is a major scam in the making because tubewell water meant for drinking purpose by and large is not treated,” said leading water activist Rajinder Singh. Government-owned Water and Power Consultancy Service (WAPCOS) officials also question the efficacy of setting up a 31 MGD plant, which will cost around `75 crores, to treat water which has been tested and found to be of good drinking quality.”
The Delhi Jal Board has more than a 100 tubewells and five ramney wells in the Palla region upstream of Yamuna. WAPCOS was asked by the DJB to do a detailed testing of the quality of water in these wells in 2012.
Dr S.V.N. Rao, on behalf of WAPCOS, tested water from 25 wells for the presence of fluoride, manganese, nitrate, ammonia, iron and electrical conductivity and found that these were within permissible limits except in two wells.
A senior WAPCOS official said on condition of anonymity said, “Tubewell water upstream of Wazirabad in the Yamuna floodplains is pure and of drinking quality. Water treatment plants are required for surface water or if there is arsenic or fluoride contamination in tube well water,” he said.
Infact, in 2012 WAPCOS had been asked by the DJP to prepare a feasibility report on how the 60 MGD water available in the floodplain can be safely extracted. The report was prepared under the supervision of Prof. Vikram Soni, advisor to the DJB, but the work using non-invasive techniques got stalled with the transfer of former DJB CEO Ramesh Negi.
Prof. Soni pointed out, “It is a little challenging for me that they are planning to put up a treatment plant when there is no water to treat.”
A senior DJB however explained the delay in the project because it needed to be studied further. Meanwhile, the DJB had written to the DDA to allot land for the construction of water treatment plant and a reservoir to distribute the water. WAPCO officials smell a rat and believe the DJB wants to bring in private operators and sideline their work.