Ayodhya, the pilgrimage city on the Saryu, has brought a 33 million litres per day sewage treatment plant and a city-wide interception and diversion network of drains into service under the Namami Gange Programme, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) said in a statement reported on 28 August 2026 (Hindustan Times). The two projects were completed with an investment of ₹260 crore and are designed to stop untreated sewage from entering the Saryu.
Key takeaways
- Ayodhya has commissioned a 33 MLD STP and an interception and diversion (I&D) network of drains under the Namami Gange Programme (Hindustan Times).
- Combined investment in the two projects is ₹260 crore (Hindustan Times).
- The drain-tapping, interception and diversion works were completed in 2021, while the 33 MLD STP, approved in 2021, became operational in 2025 (Hindustan Times).
- The pair was among seven major sewerage infrastructure projects completed during the second half of 2024-25 under Namami Gange, according to the Union Jal Shakti ministry (Hindustan Times).
- Ayodhya already operated a 12 MLD STP when, in May 2018, the NMCG approved a separate ₹37.67 crore I&D project for five drains carrying a cumulative 5 MLD into the Saryu (Hindustan Times).
What happened
On 28 August 2026, the NMCG said the twin projects were aimed at "preventing untreated sewage from entering the Saryu, and improving the quality of water in the river," and posted on X that "Ayodhya is not just a city of faith; now it is also an example of clean water management" (Hindustan Times). The drain-tapping and interception works were completed in 2021, stopping the direct flow of wastewater into the river, while the 33 MLD STP approved in 2021 became operational in 2025 (Hindustan Times).
The NMCG framed the upgrade in operational terms: "The water that used to flow untreated earlier now reaches the Saryu after being treated" (Hindustan Times). The STP and I&D network were listed by the Union Jal Shakti ministry as among seven major sewerage infrastructure projects completed during the second half of 2024-25 under the Namami Gange Programme (Hindustan Times).
Coverage from a separate Hindustan Times report also notes that the wider Namami Gange framework extends beyond sewerage to solid waste management, riverfront development, ecological restoration, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and public participation (Hindustan Times).
Reported infrastructure at a glance
| Asset | Capacity / scope | Status | Reported cost | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayodhya STP (new) | 33 MLD | Approved 2021, operational 2025 | Part of ₹260 crore twin-project spend | Hindustan Times |
| City I&D network (new) | All major drains tapped and diverted | Completed 2021 | Part of ₹260 crore twin-project spend | Hindustan Times |
| Five-drain I&D project (earlier) | 5 MLD cumulative | NMCG approved May 2018 | ₹37.67 crore | Hindustan Times |
| Pre-existing Ayodhya STP | 12 MLD | Operational at the time of the 2018 approval | Not reported | Hindustan Times |
Specification read
Converting the reported 33 MLD figure to the units used in most enquiry documents: 33 MLD is 33,000 m³/day, equivalent to a design flow of roughly 380 L/s. At a typical municipal organic loading of about 200–300 mg/L BOD for combined domestic sewage (general industry range, not from the sources), 33,000 m³/day of treated flow corresponds to a population equivalent in the order of 2–3 lakh people, which is a useful sizing sanity check against the 5 MLD intercepted from the five drains and the pre-existing 12 MLD plant already running in the city. In a conventional scheme of this size, the treatment train that this asset sits in would be: screening and grit removal → primary clarification → biological treatment (an A2O, MBBR, SBR or MBR stage, depending on the space and effluent quality required for discharge into the Saryu) → tertiary filtration → disinfection. The reported news concerns the secondary biological stage and the upstream interception network that feeds it; the I&D work determines whether the STP actually receives the dry-weather flow it was sized for, which is the recurring failure mode on river-city projects.
For a buyer or plant manager, the recognition sentence is straightforward: if your plant handles on the order of 30,000 m³/day of combined domestic sewage with BOD in the typical 200–300 mg/L range and discharges into a river with a defined clean-up deadline, this is the class of asset you are comparing against — a new biological STP of roughly 30–35 MLD paired with a city-scale I&D network, commissioned as a single package. Operators scoping similar capacity in the municipal segment can frame the procurement as a single integrated sewage treatment scope rather than two separate tenders, and any supplier shortlist should explicitly cover both the interceptor piping and the biological stage. The same logic shows up in adjacent Municipal installations and in packaged Integrated Sewage Treatment plants sized for similar flows.
FAQ
What capacity has Ayodhya just added to its sewerage network?
A 33 MLD (33,000 m³/day) sewage treatment plant, approved in 2021 and operational in 2025, accompanied by a city-wide interception and diversion network of drains completed in 2021, with a combined reported spend of ₹260 crore (Hindustan Times).
How does the new plant fit with the city's existing treatment capacity?
It adds to a pre-existing 12 MLD STP, and follows a separate 2018 NMCG-approved ₹37.67 crore I&D project for five drains carrying 5 MLD into the Saryu; together these raise treated capacity in the city (Hindustan Times).
What should I check on a comparable municipal STP tender before bid?
Confirm whether interception and diversion of contributing drains is bundled with the STP, because the I&D network is what determines whether the plant receives its design flow; in Ayodhya, the ₹260 crore package combined both, completed in 2021 for the drains and 2025 for the STP (Hindustan Times).
What lead time is realistic between approval and commissioning for a 33 MLD municipal STP under a national programme?
Based on the reported Ayodhya timeline, roughly four years from 2021 approval to 2025 commissioning, with drain interception completed earlier in 2021. Comparable timelines for a 30–35 MLD municipal STP are typically in the 3–5 year range (general industry range, not from the sources) (Hindustan Times).
