State to get Rs 300 crore fund to tackle coastal pollution

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government will be getting a Rs 300-crore fund to implement the plan to reduce pollution in the state’s coastal zones under the India Integrated Coastal Zones Management Project (ICZMP).

The decision was taken during a recent ICZMP meeting in Delhi. The World Bank will provide funds for the project while the central government will provide 30 per cent of the project cost and states will have to contribute 20 per cent. The plan will include policies and methods for conservation of the state’s coastal ecosystem and reduction of pollution there.

According to the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), Raigad and Palghar have the most polluted coastlines in the state owing to chemical effluents from industrial units. With the allocated funds, the state government will propose Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) with higher capacity in such areas.

MCZMA officials said that the CETPs of industrial units along Raigad and Palghar coastlines did not have the capacity to handle the amount of effluents released from such units. S Sandanshiv, scientific officer, MCZMA, said, “Even several Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in Maharashtra’s districts have inadequate capacity to treat the waste. Gujarat has recently commissioned a STP of 70 million litres per day. The seashore of Vasai and Alibaug is already reeling under chemical pollution. We will use the funds to bring up such facilities to mitigate pollution in seawater.”

Alongside setting up of CETPs and STPs, the MCZMA will also chalk out plans for shoreline and sand erosion management, especially restoration of mangroves, shelter belts, sand dunes, sea grass meadows and coral reefs.

As per the Centre’s plan, the funds will also be used for strengthening of livelihoods of coastal communities. While the MCZMA had directed district collectors to send proposals around innovative coastal management plans by January 6, 2018, it has not received any fresh proposals yet.