![CLEAR OPTIONS](https://cdn.magzter.com/1335344221/1700109066/articles/BKevTgdbu1700129571400/CLEAR-OPTIONS.jpg)
ATUN ROY CHOUDHURY, NEHA SINGH, P SANKAR GANESH, RESHAM BHALLA, K MAHALAKSHMI AND K SANDHYA
WASTEWATER TREATMENT and recovery are critical to address water scarcity and environmental pollution. Indian cities currently treat only 28 per cent of the 72,368 million litres of sewage they generate every day, as per the latest data released by the Central Pollution Control Board in December 2022.
While the country clearly needs to increase its treatment capacity, it also needs to upgrade the currently employed wastewater treatment processes for more efficient technologies. Most sewage treatment plants in the country rely on outdated technologies such as the activated sludge process, planted drying beds, soil biotechnology and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors that have a treatment efficiency of around 65 per cent and are cumbersome to set up and manage.
The story is slowly changing with several states in recent years opting for newer technologies that have treatment efficiency of around 80 to 90 per cent.
Almost all the sewage treatment plants set up in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after 2018 are based on two such technologies— sequencing batch reactors (sbrs) and moving bed biofilm reactors (mbbrs). Telangana's capital Hyderabad, in a first, recently upgraded an existing sewage treatment plant that releases its effluent into the Durgam Cheruvu Lake with sbr technology. Bihar has replaced most of its obsolete and inferior sewage treatment plants with sbrs. Similar upgrades are also reported in Maharashtra, Goa, Haryana, West Bengal and Uttarakhand.
Esta historia es de la edición November 16, 2023 de Down To Earth.
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Esta historia es de la edición November 16, 2023 de Down To Earth.
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![Look Beyond Dust](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/762/1719707/LUcfRhjSO1717500619374/crp_LOOK-BEYOND-DUST.jpg)
Look Beyond Dust
Reinvent National Clean Air Programme to focus on fine particulate matter and trans-boundary pollution
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PLAN THEM COOL
As urban India turns into a heat trap, the government must focus on improving cities' liveability
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Vision 2030
Economic growth must take into account needs of energy transition, climate mitigation, with action aligned as per India's 2030 climate goals
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FIX OUR FOOD
Chemical-dependent farming, lax labelling laws, rising anti-microbial resistance must top the agenda
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BATTLE THE CAR BULGE
Clean, affordable, integrated and accessible public transport the only solution
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CONSERVE NOW
Disregard for biodiversity conservation over the past two decades needs immediate redressal
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SCRAP THE DUMP
Disincentivise garbage dumping, invest in behavioural change
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THINK LONG-TERM
India needs continued emphasis on flagship programmes, aligned to long-term planning that focusses on water security and circular economy in a climate-risked era
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OVERHAUL OVERDUE
Hold polluting industries accountable for public health risks, environmental hazards, climate change; provide them support for green transition
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IT'S NOW OR NEVER
Clean energy sectors need demand-driven markets and domestic industries that can cater to the entire value chain