Sewage cess an idea whose time has come

Sewage cess an idea whose time has come

A severe sewage crisis is brewing across the nation’s cities, which we can ignore only at our own peril. As the recent Mihir Shah committee report pointed out, cities in India produce nearly 40,000 million litres of sewage every day and barely 20% of it is treated. Delhi chief secretary Vijay Dev has called for a Yamuna cess on all households in the Capital, which clearly needs to be promptly followed through.

The way forward is to allocate resources for urban sewage treatment, and not just to take action over rising pollution in our rivers but also for gainful reuse of treated water. The grim reality is that only 2% of our urban areas have both sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants. Hence the pressing need to levy reasonable user charges on all households, to shore up much-needed investments in such plants. The Sewerage Master Plan for Delhi, 2031, does mention that treatment capacity is about 50% of the sewage produced, but adds that several plants are decades old and which has led to loss of treatment efficiency. The Capital’s trunk sewers lines, constructed as early as in the 1930s, have mostly silted up and require revamp and de-silting. Back in 2015, the National Green Tribunal had ruled that every household in Delhi should pay at least ₹100 per month as environmental compensation.

Unfortunately, not a single rupee has been collected and Delhi Jal Board has yet to initiate the process. The Delhi government has, instead, been providing water gratis even to upmarket colonies. The Delhi chief secretary has now rightly called for a Yamuna cess of ₹100, ₹300 or ₹500 per household, depending on locality. Reasonable sewage user charges collected monthly do need to be urgently levied for sustainable urban development, beginning in the National Capital Territory.