Assessment of water pollution policies (India)

Water pollution in all major open drains in Delhi City along with Yamuna River flowing across the city, has adversely affected the environment and economy of the city, human health and other living organisms. The problem has been recognized and the implementation of the action plan has been going on past several years. But, there has been little or no impact on the water pollution problem. There has been a need to change the approach of the action plan. The action plan has given more emphasis on development of centralized sanitation system, while effort on taking up onsite and decentralized sanitation system works is very limited. As complete coverage of Delhi City by centralized sanitation system will be very difficult and will take much longer time, development of onsite and decentralized sanitation system is equally important. Development of onsite sanitation system will include horizontal filters, soak pits, etc. in minor contributory drains to treat sullage water, adequate treatment of septage collected from septic tanks of households, etc. Along with development of onsite sanitation system, there is a need to treat waste water within all the major drains by application of alternative waste water treatment technologies such as constructed wetland, in situ bio-remediation, etc. Mitigation of water pollution problem will need substantial completion of both centralized and onsite sanitation system and treatment of waste water within the drains. Also, general public of the city need to be sensitized about the problem. Their active participation in implementing the action plan is essential.