New Delhi, Aug 5 : The Centre has approved Rs 62,935.90 crore worth sewerage and septage projects under the AMRUT 2.0 (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme so far and a massive 29,105 km sewerage network along with 5,791.94 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage treatment capacity is being set up in these projects, Minister of State Tokhan Sahu told the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The AMRUT 2.0 scheme was launched on October 1, 2021, for a period of 5 years from the financial year 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The Centre earlier sanctioned a sum of Rs 32,456 crore for sewerage and septage projects so far under the AMRUTscheme and as many as 313 sewerage treatment plants (STPs) with a total capacity of 6,232 million litres per day (MLD) have been taken up for construction.

Of this, 214 STPs with a total capacity of 4,174 MLD have already been completed and around 18,000 km sewerage network has been laid in these projects, the minister further stated.

The first AMRUT scheme was launched on June 25, 2015, in 500 select cities and towns across the country.

The mission focuses on development of basic infrastructure, in the select cities and towns, in the sectors of water supply; sewerage and septage management; storm water drainage; green spaces and parks; and non motorised urban transport.

A set of Urban Reforms and Capacity Building have been included in the Mission.

Sanitation is a state subject and function of its Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and it is the responsibility of state/ ULBs to plan, design, execute and operate sanitation projects in the urban areas of the country, including slums. However, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) supplements the efforts of the states/ ULBs in providing infrastructure for basic services such as sewerage infrastructure including Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in urban areas through its various flagship Missions/ Schemes, the Minister said.

As per the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order and based on the data of sewage as per report dated February 12, 2021, filed by the Central Monitoring Committee, headed by Secretary Jal Shakti, Government of India, 30,001 MLD capacity of STPs (1,261) is existing (in urban settlements) in 31 states and UTs of which only 56 per cent capacity is being utilised for treatment of municipal sewage.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified effluents standards for sewage treatment plants (STPs) for four parameters viz. pH, Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solids and Fecal Coliform.

Networked underground sewerage systems, including augmentation of existing sewerage systems, augmentation and rehabilitation of existing STPs and construction of new STP are admissible components under the Under AMRUT & AMRUT 2.0.

Under the mission, projects have been selected, appraised, approved and implemented by the concerned states and union territories as per their local conditions/ constraints, the minister added.

/IANS