Noida to build 8 new sewage treatment plants to treat drain water

The work on six of these STPs will begin in the next two months after the authority selects the company that will take up the construction work

In order to clean the drains in the city, the Noida authority has decided to build eight new sewage plants (STPs), said authority officials on Monday, adding that the decision comes three years after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in February 2020 ordered that sewage in drains also be treated as all these sewers empty untreated sewage into the Yamuna and Hindon rivers, thereby polluting the river waters and also contaminating the groundwater table.

The authority will build STPs on drains flowing through Morna, sectors 34, 25, sector 91, 105, 108, near Amit University, Harola and Sector 62 in Phase One and later more drains will be covered, if needed. (HT Archive)

“We have decided to build eight new STPs so that we can treat sewage and recycle it for irrigation purposes. The move will help us in maintaining the health of drains and rivers,” said Lokesh M, chief executive officer of the Noida authority.

The work on six of these STPs will begin in the next two months after the authority selects the company that will take up the construction work. They will be completed within 18 months of starting work on the ground, officials said.

The authority has engaged the National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) for conducting a study and preparing the detailed project reports (DPRs) of the eight STPs.

NERI is likely to submit the DPRs next week for further approvals so that the tender can be issued to select the company for construction work, Noida authority officials said.

The authority will build STPs on drains flowing through Morna, sectors 34, 25, sector 91, 105, 108, near Amit University, Harola and Sector 62 in Phase One and later more drains will be covered, if needed. Apart from eight STPs, NERI has also suggested in situ treatment of a few drains.

These eight STPs will be small, with a capacity to treat around 8 million litres daily (MLD) of sewer, and have a tentative budget of ₹2 crore each. However, the final estimates will be approved in the DPR to be submitted next week.

Noida authority already has eight STPs in sectors 51, 54, 123 and 168 to treat around 210MLD sewer. The authority treats the sewer from residential, industrial and other areas at these STPs and the treated water is released into drains, which empty into the Yamuna.

With these eight small STPs, the authority will treat the sewer at the generation point and release the water into drains to make the city completely a zero discharge city, said authority officials.

“Our aim is to make sure no untreated sewer goes into the drain. We are treating the sewage that is generated from residential and industrial areas. But sewer from unauthorised colonies reaches the drains that will be treated and recycled,” said a Noida authority official, asking not to be named.

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