Jal board to clear septage from unauthorised areas

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has decided to provide free septic tank cleaning and septage collection services to unauthorised colonies, villages and slum clusters, to curb sewage inflow to the Yamuna and also check illegal manual scavenging, officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.

- Paras Singh

Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma said they will do away with the existing system of using empanelled private contractors. The project will benefit at least 1.2-1.5 million households, he said.

“Under the current system, a list of private empanelled contractors is permitted to clean septic tanks and take it to the sewage treatment facilities. The system has leakages and there are complaints that the septage is dumped in drains and open areas, ultimately polluting the Yamuna. These private vendors charge ₹2,000 to ₹3,000 for these services, but the DJB will carry out this work free of cost. Under the revised system, DJB tankers will be deployed for this work. A helpline number will soon be issued,” Verma said.