IIT-Kanpur to help rejuvenate Kushak Drain in ₹169-crore project

The New Delhi Municipal Council has approved the ₹169.57 crore project to rejuvenate and clean and Kushak drain between Sardar Patel Marg and Kamal Ataturk Marg with the help of IIT-Kanpur, senior council officials aware of the project have said.

The officials said that complaints have been received from different ministries that waste water that flows in the Kushak nullah emits foul, pungent gases, causing difficulties to the people living around the drain.

“We had roped in the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) from IIT Kanpur to undertake preliminary studies and assess the average flow of water in the drain,” the official added.

The Kushak drain starts from SP Marg and joins Barapulla drain after travelling about 5km through a number of south Delhi neighbourhoods, including Chirag Dilli, Mehrauli, INA, Shahpur Jat, Defence Colony, GK and Pushp Vihar.

According to the plan submitted by the cGanga group to the council, a series of decentralised wastewater treatment plants and SCR (Sequential Continuous Flow) reactors would be set up between SP Marg and Kamal Ataturk Marg. “These wastewater treatment units are based on microbes filters treating the wastewater, and these modular units can be relocated to other locations based on changes in the flow in the drainage system. The IIT-Kanpur group has assured that the units can be installed within 6-8 weeks after the final work order is issued for the project,” the official added.

Under the current plant, the civic body plans to install three wastewater treatment plants along the length of the drain in New Delhi area in Lutyens Delhi--one 5 MLD plant near the Sardar Patel Marg and two smaller 2.5 MLD plants towards the last end of the stretch.

NDMC council member Kuljeet Chahal said the drain cleaning and maintenance project will include operation and maintenance for 12 years. “Through this project, NDMC will also be getting 10 million liters of treated water everyday at the rate of Rs28 per kilolitres which can be sold to CPWD, horticulture use or sold to private organisations like hotels for cooling towers. it will also involve creation of new landscaped green belts and water bodies near the treatment plants,” he added.

An NDMC official said that the council areas also face shortage of water for horticulture use and the current market price of water being purchased from STP (Sewage Treatment Plants) is between ₹40 to Rs47.22 per KL

According to the proposal submitted by cGanga IIT-K, a copy of which HT has seeen, the SCR (Sequential Continuous-flow Reactor) technology four reactors would be installed where the contact between microbes and organic molecules in wastewater is maximised. “The microbes are maintained at high growth stage to ensure enzyme production. Microbes feed on the organic components and convert biomass into additional water and released gases,” it adds.

The National Green Tribunal is separately hearing complaints regarding the pollution in Kushak drain by petitioners in south Delhi localities. A Joint committee comprising Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on February 22 suggested covering a portion of the 6.5km-long Kushak drain near Greater Kailash-1 by using acrylic fiber sheets to temporarily block the foul smell of sewage coming from it. Informing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in a report, the committee has said that the stormwater drain is likely to be sewage free by middle of 2025, with six out of the 11 entry points of sewage already trapped and connected to sewage treatment plants (STPs).

The NGT, in May last year had formed this joint committee to look into grievances raised by residents living in different parts of south Delhi, including GK-1, stating toxic gases were being released through the drain, which flows through several south Delhi neighbourhoods. Though covered at 85% of the places, the drain is open in parts too, including the area behind GK-1’s B block.

Diwan Singh, an activist and member of an LG-appointed “Dwarka Water Bodies’ Committee”, said that natural drainage network of the city needs to be traced and rejuvenated to solve multiple woes related to Yamuna pollution, groundwater recharge and waterlogging. “It is a good idea to install decentralised sewage treatment plants but instead of putting this treated water back into drain and waste it, the local body should put this water to other uses such as for horticulture purpose. Under natural drainage system, these drains should not have any water flowing except during monsoon season. The drains can act as the biggest recharge points for the city during the monsoon season while also preventing urban flooding,” he added.