Noida to treat wastewater of its drains for a clean Yamuna

Noida plans to build 11 sewage treatment plants to prevent untreated wastewater from polluting the Yamuna, pending approval from the CPCB.

NOIDA: The Noida authority on Sunday said that it has decided to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs) at the city’s 11 out of 24 drains to treat wastewater to ensure no untreated wastewater is emptied into Yamuna.

Noida authority in a survey established that there are at least 30 drains in Noida and these drains are connected with the irrigation drain that begins from Delhi’s Ashok Nagar and merges with Yamuna at Sector 168 after passing through the city’s central part. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The move came after the national green tribunal (NGT) on August 3, 2022, while hearing a case directed the authority not to dump untreated waste into the drains, which are finally emptied into Yamuna. Since then the authority is working on the plan to improve the quality of the treated wastewater to mitigate pollution in Yamuna River as the NGT had also slapped a ₹100 crore penalty against the authority for polluting the river, said officials.

To escape the penalty, the authority challenged the NGT’s August 3, 2025 order in the Supreme Court (SC). The apex court gave relief from penalty and since then heard the case and will next hear this case related to Yamuna’s protection, on October 8, 2025, said officials.

On last Friday, the authority tabled a proposal about setting up STPs at 11 drains before its 219th board chaired by additional chief secretary Deepak Kumar, and the board approved the plan with the rider that the central pollution control board (CPCB) must evaluate the project before the work begins at the site, said officials.

The authority board directed the water works department to seek the opinion of the CPCB about these 11 STPs, which require funds of ₹800 crore.

“The board said that since the CPCB is the apex body, this project must be built in consultation with them. Now our teams will seek CPCB’s consent before starting the work on this project that aims to set up 11 STPs on the city’s 11 drains, which have higher level faecal quantity. The authority found out that the sewage of the villages and other adjoining areas flows through these city drains causing health issues. Therefore, the authority’s water works department aims to treat the wastewater in the city’s 11 drains,” said Noida authority’s chief executive officer Lokesh M.

Noida authority in a survey established that there are at least 30 drains in Noida and these drains are connected with the irrigation drain that begins from Delhi’s Ashok Nagar and merges with Yamuna at Sector 168 after passing through the city’s central part.

“At least 6 drains remain dry out of these 24 and in eight drains we have put in an intermittent in-situ methodology to clean the wastewater that flows through them. And the survey conducted by the national environment engineering research institute (NEERI) suggested that at least 11 STPs need to be built so that the wastewater can be treated and the untreated is not reached to Yamuna,” said RP Singh, general manager at Noida authority heading water works department.

The authority has asked the NEERI to prepare a detailed project report about seven drains for the treatment of the wastewater if any flows into them.

The authority will take at least 2 years to build these 11 STPs if the CPCB gives their go-ahead.

“On September 17, 2025 the SC directed that the CPCB must be kept in the loop while handling the wastewater in the city. Therefore now we will wait for the further directions of the Supreme Court on next hearing on October 8, 2025 and then we will seek the CPCB opinion to take the STP project ahead,” said a Noida authority official.